


The Dark Rose of Subcon

by OddCombo



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Humor, Rule 63, genderswapped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22388179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OddCombo/pseuds/OddCombo
Summary: She thought it would be like any other time some fool would fall into one of her traps. Little did she know that a little boy would turn her world upside down. (Art by SSBATT)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Act 1: Contractual Obligations Pt. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first multi-chapter story! 
> 
> This story will only concentrate on the genderbent version of Chapter 3 of the game. Some things might be different, but that's how I like to do things. Either way, I'd like to give huge props for my co-creator, SSBATT, who helped me write this and make the cover art for it. Check him out on Twitter :)

****

**Act 1: Contractual Obligations l **

  


It was rare to have a night be as quiet as it was tonight. Then again, it was _always_ night at Subcon Forest. The sense of time tends to get confusing when the sun never shines, which makes owning a clock very useful.

  


In the middle of the forest, a yellow eye scanned through a wall of text on a page of a big hardback. A collection of books of varying states (a little faded at best, and almost worn out at worst) were filed neatly on a bookshelf next to a black leather love-seat. On the love-seat, a young woman sat. Her skin was milky white and soft, her eye was yellow with thick eyelashes. Her shoulder-length hair was black and turned yellow at the edges, the bangs spilling over her right eye and completely hiding it from the world. She wore a dark grey, sleeveless dress with a V-neck deep enough to reveal a decent amount of cleavage, black fluff rimming the collar. Her slender arms were covered by a pair of black,long gloves that turned purple at her hands, then yellow at her fingertips. A purple velvet waistband was wrapped around her and held in place by a golden button with a flower sculpture on it. The dress color was so dark, it was almost invisible in the dim light provided by a lanterns hanging off the branches of dead trees. The dress was spilled across the love-seat as the big, leather-bound hardback lay open in her lap. The book was titled _'Ties That Bind'_ , the letters golden and written in beautiful calligraphy.

  


Once she was done with the page, she gingerly flipped it, the crisp sound of paper rustling echoed through the silence surrounding her. At some point, a worm-like creature swam through the air, an orange fox mask with green, glowing dots in its eyes. It looked down at the woman reading, then wandered behind her, looking over her shoulder at the pages she read. After a while it got bored and flew away.

  


Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind, and she perked up. The voice was raspy and that of a young child.

  


**_Um, Ma'am?_ **

  


Her eyebrows pinched in annoyance. "This better be important enough to interrupt my reading time," She said tightly.

  


**_Sorry, Ma'am,_** the voice said. **_But we have an intruder._**

****

An intruder? It's been quite some time since someone was stupid enough to wander into her domain. Especially after letting a few go to warn the others. She would occasionally spare a life, letting them spread the story of the soul-snatching demoness that lived in Subcon Forest. _The Snatchress_ , they called her, _Dark Rose Of Subcon_. She liked the name, honestly. "Show me," She said. Her yellow iris began to glow brighter, and in it, she saw the front of a small, wooden house in the middle of a small lake, a wooden bridge connecting it to land. An old fence surrounded the area, where large, glowing mushrooms and vines with lanterns hanging off of them decorated it. Behind the cottage was a giant tree that reached up and beyond her peripheral vision.

  


What caught The Snatchress's attention, however, was the little boy standing on one of the windowsills and peeking inside. With a head full of brown hair under a purple top hat, he wore a yellow cape that reached down to his feet.

  


Her brows pinched in curiosity. What was a little boy doing in Subcon? Most children refused to come anywhere near this place, in fear of crossing paths with the queen ruling it. He hopped off the sill and onto the handrail of the small bridge, then on the bridge itself, his face set in a disappointed pout. He wore a purple T-shirt with a big zipper and a pair of beige cargo shorts. **_What do you wanna do, Ma'am?_** The voice asked.

  


She pursed her black, glossy lips in thought, her gloved fingertip tapping her chin. She wanted to scare him away from her forest… then again, she had a ton of chores that needed to be done around her forest. They could not wait, and she was sure as _peck_ not doing them herself.

  


That thought gave her pause. Was she really planning to do this? To a little _boy?_ She wasn't what one would call "compassionate", but doing _this…_ to a little kid?

  


Yes. Yes, she was.

  


"Bait him into a trap," she ordered, slapping the hardback shut as she kicked her feet to the ground and stood up. "I'll be there shortly." With that, her eyes ceased to glow. She pulled her gloves tightly up her shapely arms, then smoothed out her dress. She then snapped her fingers, and a full height mirror spawned before her in a puff of purple smoke. She grabbed both sides of her v-neck and adjusted her breasts, then the fluffy collar, then her hair. Satisfied with her appearance, she nodded in approval. She walked over to the lantern that illuminated the place and opened one of the glass lids, then looked at the fourth wall. "I hate to leave you in the dark like this," she started, an impish smile on her lips. "But I have other _obligations_ to attend to~" She then blew the lantern out, and shadows swallowed the area. The yellow glow of her eye was still visible as her sinister chuckles echoed across the darkness before they both faded away.

  


**.oO0Oo.**

Somewhere down a dirt path, a large piece of fabric was hanging in the air with something inside of it twisting and turning. "Put me down, it's not funny anymore!" Came the voice of a little boy. When kicking around proved fruitless, he decided to chew his way out. He was met with a mouth filled with dirt as he spat the dirty fabric out and wiped his tongue with his cape.

  


How could he fall for such a stupid trap? He was a space traveller, for peck's sake! If the others knew about this, they will _never_ let him hear the end of it. Oh, when he puts his hands on that little… thing, whatever it is, he'll-

  


Before he could finish that thought, the fabric beneath him ripped. A startled yelp escaped his throat when he slipped through and fell through the air towards the ground. Performing an elegant flip in the air, he landed safely on his feet and saved himself a painful fall. The moment his feet touched the ground, however, everything changed; the ground deformed, turning purple in color as shadows rose around him, engulfing him in a dome as storm clouds appeared above, thunder booming and lightning flashing. The sound of a woman's low chuckle echoed from all around, and he whipped his head around. "Who's there?" He asked.

  


**_"You must be very lost, little boy~"_** The voice said. It was smooth and low with a regal hint that reverberated all around him. ** _"This is not a place for children like you~"_**

  


"Who said that?!" He looked around, his brows set. "Show yourself, chicken!"

  


**_"How rude,"_** she replied, giggling. **_"Is that how your father taught you to speak to ladies~?"_**

****

He smirked and crossed his arms confidently. "Joke's on you, lady," he replied, "I never had a father!"

  


There was an awkward pause after the boy's statement. She then giggled heartily. **_"Well, that got depressing,"_** she managed through her giggles. The boy's cheeks turned red in embarrassment.

  


"Shut up!" He yelled with a stomp of his foot. "Show yourself, you don't scare me!"

  


**_"Hmmm… Are you sure you want me to~?"_** She asked. ** _"You might get scared if I do~"_**

****

"No, I won't," The boy said, getting impatient. "Now, show yourself, so I can beat you up!"

  


She couldn't help but giggle at his statement. **_"As you wish~"_** She said.

  


Thunder boomed,the lightning flashing as a figure rose from the shadows. One glowing eye stared down at the boy as it loomed over him like a giant. His brave facade broke as he looked up at the silhouette towering above him. Lightening crackled behind it, making the boy yelp and fall back on his fanny as he crawled back until he was met with an invisible wall.

  


The woman's amused chuckles came to his ears as the silhouette stepped out of the shadows. It was a woman with pale skin and short black hair covering her left eye. "You little fool~" she spoke. The boy's features twisted in confusion. She threw her hands up and continued. "You did it! You've totally screwed yourself~! _No one_ enters my forest and leaves in one piece~" Here, she bent slightly forward and held her gloved hands together against her chest. "Tell you what, though… hang on a minute… you get to _live!"_ She piped, shaking her fists excitedly. "That's right! Aren't you _lucky~?"_ she cooed, eyes half-lidded as she leaned closer and playfully booped his nose. The kid simply smacked her hand away and took a step back. She stood straight again and continued. "I would have eaten your soul and tossed your body into the swamp by now," she said, nodding to the left. The boy followed her gaze, but all he saw was tortured souls, gaping eye sockets and mouths open in silent screams of agony. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looked back at her and she took it as her cue to continue. "But you're in luck. You win the lottery! Because, _I_ happened to be looking for a new brain dead servant~" She said, rolling the last three words off her tongue.

  


"Hey!" The boy said, glaring at the taller woman. The woman covered her mouth and giggled playfully.

  


  


"Anyways, as I was saying, I'm in need for a new errand boy," she explained as she started walking around him. "The old one got himself killed; his head popped off, and now I need a new one." Here, her lips curled up teasingly as she stopped behind him. "You'll do just fine," she said as he felt his cape being tugged on. "Towel Boy~"

  


He pulled away from her And turned around, his cheeks tinged with pink at her remark. "It's a cape!" He cried indignantly. She simply giggled before she held one hand up, her purple fingers glowing as she snapped them. Lighting flashed and thunder boomed as a piece of paper and a quill spawned in a small cloud of purple smoke, 'Contract' was written on top in beautiful calligraphy.

  


"Let's make a deal then," she said, the contract and quill floating closer to the boy. "I have this piece of paper here. Never mind the details, I just need you to sign," she said, then leaned over and tapped her finger on the dotted line at the bottom of the paper. "Right there, at the bottom~"

  


He looked at her, one eyebrow raised in suspicion, then at the contract before him and started reading:

  


_By authorisation of The Snatchress, Ruler of Subcon, the contractor is obligated to complete the following objectives:_

_ Find Subcon Village. _

_ Murder The Fire Spirits. _

_ Clean the Subcon Well. _

_Upon signing, the contractor will gain access to The Subcon Swamp. The Snatchress will keep the following hostage:_

**YOUR SOUL**

_But they may keep whatever they find along the way._

  


He blinked. His soul? Was this crazy lady serious? He looked up at her with wide eyes. She had a small smile on her lips, looking down at him with anticipation.

  


Yep. She was serious.

  


"I won't sign!" He cried, shoving the contract away. "I need my soul!"

  


"Aw, come on now~" she pushed her bottom lip in a childish pout. "You don't really have a choice here," she added, then dropped the act when her brows were furrowed in mild annoyance. "Sign the paper."

  


The boy simply crossed his arms and looked away. The Snatcress' eye twitched. He was really testing her patience now. "I don't think I made myself clear enough," she started, taking a deep breath. "Your 'opinion' doesn't _matter_ _to me!_ Put your name on that paper, or I will make your cold, hollow body sign it for you!" She snapped, her face twisted in angry grimace as the contract floated around to the front of him again.

  


The boy looked the contract over again and started weighing his options. She was threatening to kill him if he didn't sign that contract, but will she actually pull through with her threat? She sounded like it. Even so, signing that contract didn't seem like a good idea either. He was always taught to never sign contracts made by strangers.

  


With that in mind, however, he felt the presence of a lot of Time Pieces around here. And this grumpy lady wasn't going to let him go without signing that contract.

  


Eventually, he sighed, his shoulders slumped in defeat as he took the quill in his hand and began to scribble across the dotted line, drawing a winking raspberry emoji at the end. One he was done, she snatched the piece of paper and examined his contract with puckered lips, then pulled out a stamp from behind her back and stamped the bottom right corner with her seal of approval. Blue flames began to burn the contract after the stamp, leaving nothing but a speck of ash. "That seals the deal!" She piped, clapping her hands excitedly. "We're in business now, yay~!" She then stared down at him with a sinister look in her eye. "Now, let me just _grab_ this real quick~"

  


She bent down and pressed her palm against his chest. He was confused for a moment, then felt bile rise from his stomach. He gagged, convulsing as purple light emitted from his mouth, then an orb of the same color squeeze out of his mouth. She pulled her hand away, and the boy fell down to his hands in knees, coughing wetly as he shuddered. "Whoops!" She said as she grabbed the glowing orb in her hand. He looked up at her, eyes wide with fear and drool staining his chin. He felt uneasy, not to mention exceedingly empty inside. "I believe this soul belongs to me now~" She shook it for emphasis. "Don't worry, though. If you do a good job, you'll have it back before your life's expectancy~" she said, giggling. "Oh, and just in case you get distracted~" She got down on her knees (probably.he wasn't sure she had legs at all) and, to his confusion, she gently cupped his cheek in her hand. She then leaned forward and placed a soft peck to his forehead, making his cheeks burn pink at the notion. A light ache made itself known in the center of his skull as he watched her stand up, eyes wide with surprise. "I've carved the contract to your brain, so that it _never_ leaves your mind~" She then giggled as black smoke surrounded her, then dissipated, her laughter echoing around him as the talk surrounding him faded.

  


He was back on the dirt path again as he looked around, shakily getting back to his feet.

  


So, he just sold his would to the devil, apparently. Now, he was forced into doing the grunt work.

  


Say whaaaat.

  


**.oO0Oo.**

The Snatchress appeared at the middle of her home in a puff of black smoke. With a sign, she looked at the purple orb of light in her hand, a tiny smile on her lips. Of all the fools that she encountered entering her forest, he was the only one to not cower before her and beg for his life. His courage was impressive, to say the least. And who knows? She might just keep him around to run a few more errands.

  


Tucking the soul behind her, she looked around the cottage: There was a coat hanger by the door, a lantern by each corner that illuminated the place, and a red velvet love-seat by a fireplace on the opposite side of the door and a small bookshelf next to it. Walking over, she skimmed through the spines, stopping at a particular one she never read before. She pulled it out, then sat on the love-seat. She tucked her feet beneath her and rested her elbow against the armrest, then opened the book to the first page. An idea came to her, and her yellow eye began to glow. _When the contractor finds the village, one of you let's me know, understood?_ she thought.

  


**_Yes, Ma'am,_** a voice replied. Nodding, she returned to reading her book.

  


** How To Kill Kids **

_By a real serial killer_


	2. Act 1: Contractual Obligations Pt. 2

**Act 1: Contractual** **Obligations ll **

A few minutes down that same dirt path was an intersection; to the left was a broken bridge with warning signs all over. To the right, the dirt path continued deeper into the forest. The bridge was completely blocked off by a line of colorful fire that prevented him from exploring what lied beyond, leaving him with only heading right and deeper into the forest.

He would do that, of course, once he was finished with what was before him.

"It sure has its eye on something," one of those little purple people with glowing faces said. He nodded silently in agreement. They were both staring at a cage made out of old, rotten bones. On top of it was a skull with one green eye that stared left and right between two giant violet cherries. The boy scratched the back of his head in thought before walking over to one of the cherries. He kicked it, then looked at the cage-thingy for reactions, there were none. He then picked it up and walked to the side of the oath, where he dropped it behind a tree trunk. He peered out from behind, only to see the skeleton cage-thingy staring where it was hidden.

His eyebrows knitted in intrigue. Can it see through stuff? Looks like it. He walked over to the other one, where another purple person stood next to it. "Did you know that the soft part of the fruit is sometimes called the _flesh~?_ " The second purple person said, giggling mean-spiritedly. The boy simply shot them a dirty look before picking up the second cherry and carried it away, hiding it behind a big tree. He looked back to where the cage was, but the eye was still able to look exactly where the cherries were.

He held his chin in thought as he returned to the bone cage. A few mask-wearing noodle-thingies were there now, staring curiously at the cage. One in particular was staring at the cherry hidden behind the tree trunk, looking very interested in it. The boy looked from the masked noodle to the giant cherry.

A metaphorical lightbulb lit up in his head. He fetched the cherry, then presented it to the masked noodle. The masked noodle stared at it for a moment, then flew right into it, causing the cherry to glow orange, throbbing and beeping. The boy simply watched as the throbbing got stronger, the orange glow turning reddish as it generated heat. "On, no," The boy said, quickly looking around nervously. He wasn't the smartest, but he knew what was going to happen. He threw the cherry at the bone cage. It exploded, stirring a cloud of dust as the purple persons and masked noodles cheered in joy. A grin broke across the boy's face, eyes wide with amazement. "It's a cherry bomb!" He said excitedly as the noodle popped back in its original place, unscathed.

The smoke cleared, and his smile dropped. "Aww," The others said, sagging in disappointment. "It was a good idea… too bad it didn't work, though," Purple Person No.1 said. The boy looked up at the skull, and his brows pinched. It was staring only at the other cherry now. He tapped his chin in thought as he looked at it and to the tree it stared at.

_Hmm. What if…?_

He walked over to the other cherry, picked it up, then presented it to another masked noodle. Like the former, it stared at it for a moment, before it dived into it, making it throb, glow and beep. He threw it at the cage, and it blew up. Everyone watched quietly as the dust began to clear. When it did, the cage was broken, and everyone cheered. The boy walked into the rubble to see what was inside the cage. There was some stuffed toys, a necklace, a wheel if cheese with 'SOD OFF' spelled in red, and… a ball of green and brown yarn? He picked it up and took a closer look. It was faintly glowing too. _This isn't regular yarn,_ he thought. _Maybe there's more of it around?_

Tucking it into his pocket, the boy followed the dirt path into the forest. As he walked, he took a look at his surroundings; this place wasn't so bad, now that he thought about it. A little spooky, yes, but once you get used to it, it's kind of… nice, actually. Maybe it was him not having a soul, but he was okay with this place.

Except for that weird lady. She gave him the creeps.

Fifteen minutes later, the boy found himself standing in front of a big clearing filled with tree trunks of different sizes surrounding a dried lake. Those ones had doors, windows, even mailboxes. Wooden planks served as bridges over the dried lake, and patches of ice were scattered across the edges of the clearing. Purple people walked back and forth, some talking, and others just sat around, doing nothing.

_This must be Subcon Village,_ he thought. _Now, I need to murder the so-called spi-_

Before he could finish that thought, the boy found himself hoisted into the air, from behind, by a pair of arms wrapped around his chest, spinning him around as the sound of a familiar laugh came to his ears. _"WHYYYYY, HELLO THERE~!"_ The Snatchress said with a smile as she stopped spinning. "You didn't forget about me, did you?" She then pouted childishly as she hugged him tighter, her cheek nuzzled against his. "Don't tell me your forgot about me…~"

As she hugged him, however, the boy couldn't help but feel a pair of soft, fleshy globes squeeze against his back. His cheeks turned pink at the idea what they might be and he quickly slapped her hands off. "Put me down!" He cried, jumping out of her embrace and turning away to hide his blush. "If I could forget about you, I would!" He spat, looking back at her as he fixed his hat on top of his head.

"Aww, don't be like that~" She cooed, trying to look hurt, but failing when a giggle escaped her lips. "So, what's up?" She asked, "working on any contractual obligations lately? You better be. Remember our little deal~" She said the last sentence in a singsong voice and a playful wink. The boy simply rolled his eyes. "Check it out," She said, gesturing to a small open space among the tree trunk houses. The boy looked where she was pointing, and saw three foxes, made of fire, dancing around a big bonfire. "Those troublesome Fire Spirits are over there, in the middle of my village," She started. "Their little dances are creating these _incredibly_ annoying barriers that prevent me access to parts of _my_ forest." She then reached with one hand to the colorful flames shaping the barriers, scooping a small torch in her hand. The boy watched in awe as the torch formed into something similar to the Fire Spirits dancing around the bonfire. The Snatchress slowly began to curl her fingers on the little torch fox, which was pushing against her fingers, looking distressed. "It's almost like… they're trying to put an end to me…" She said, smiling as she trapped the little fox in her fist. "How adorable~"

She then squeezed, snuffing the tiny fox out like a candle in the wind.

She then looked down at him, her brows knitted in an angry V. "Dispose of them!" She snarled. "I don't care how you do it, as long as they _suffer_ for entering my domain."

The boy swallowed the lump in his throat, then nodded quickly. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her features softening. She sighed, and the smile returned to her lips. "Anyways, back to work, trooper~!" She piped, pushing the boy along. "There's no time for loitering about. Because, unlike me, your time is running out~" She then giggled playfully before disappearing in a puff of black smoke. The boy stared to where she once stood, then over at the Fire Spirits.

Guess he's committing murder now. He was about to take the first step when a question came to his mind that gave him pause.

How do you kill a _spirit?_

He blinked at the question, then his brows pinched in thought as he pondered it. Seriously, how? Not finding an answer, he shrugged his shoulder. "Meh. I'll figure something out," He said out loud. He walked across the village to where the Fire Spirits danced around the bonfire. When he approached, the nearest one noticed him. They smiled, then said in a high-pitched, shaky voice:

_"We want to die. Yaaaaaay~!"_

The boy stared,eyes wide in shock. Excuse me? What the peck?!

_"We want to burn bright,"_ it continued, _"and then burn out~ Become a cloud of smooooke~!"_

"Okay…?" The boy said, disturbed. He might be soulless, but you can't keep a straight face when someone saying they want to die so cheerfully, right?

_"Our bonfire needs more fuel,"_ they explained, _"only the finest paintings will do~! Can you help us~?"_

The boy looked around, hand on his waist as he looked for said paintings, and indeed, there were a few scattered around the village. One in particular was glowing white, a big, bald, turnip-like man in a blue suit was holding on to a root jutting from the ground as the painting was trying to suck him in. He saw the boy, and a mixture of fear and relief filled his eyes. "Hat Boy!" He shouted with a thick accent. "Please help! Mafia loosing grip!"

The boy walked over, and a relieved smile touched the man's face. However, as it appeared, it disappeared when the boy stood over him, his eyes devoid of emotion. He then pressed the sole of his shoe against the man's face. The man grunted, the root slipping from his hands as the boy pushed him back. The man cried as he got sucked I to the painting, which displayed a distorted image of him looking terrified. The boy stared at the magic painting for a moment before he walked around and carried it from behind. "You'll come with me," He said impishly as he made his way back to the bonfire, then tossed the painting into the fire. It burst in flames almost instantly, the bonfire growing as the foxes cheered. _"More! Moooore~!"_ They demanded. The boy rolled his eyes and walked away, seeking another painting to burn.

The second one was near the dirt path he came from, trapped inside of a giant block of ice. He walked over and rapped his knuckles on it, then drew his hand back with a nod. Yep. This is solid ice. Clapping his hands together, he closed his eyes, his forehead wrinkling in concentration and-

**Paf!**

When he opened his eyes, he saw the reflection of a different hat on the ice. He was wearing a wizard hat now, a pair of bubbling beakers attached to it. He picked one off his hat –another one instantly appearing in place– and began to vigorously shake it in his hand. Purple smoke and bubbles began to climb out of the beaker, and he tossed it at the ice block. It exploded on impact with a burst of purple smoke. He waved the smoke away from his face, and his shoulders slumped when the ice block was shown undamaged.

He threw his head back with a childish groan. "I hate this!" He screamed angrily, then pouted and returned to work, because what else could he do?

**.oO0Oo.**

Back in her house, The Snatchress was resting on her loveseat, her brow knitted, both in confusion and annoyance from the book about killing children, which was open in her hands. She had been reading this book for the past two hours, and nothing in it seemed mildly interesting to her. Knives? Poison? This is child play! "Useless," She grumbled, slapping the book shut. She held it up in her hand, and it suddenly burst into blue flames. In moments, all that's left of that book was specks of ashes dissipating in the air. "Lame. Unoriginal," She continue, getting up and stretching her arms over her head, groaning when multiple pops were heard. "Those serial killers really need to step up their game."

She walked over to the bookshelf and scanned the spines of the books on top of it. When nothing caught her attention, she walked out to the garden outside. The wooden planks of the bridge creaked under her weight as she stepped on them, her gloved hand tracing the handrail. She stared ahead at the fork of the dirt path, specifically at the broken bridge and where it lead. The flames still blocked the path. 

Her eyebrows pinched in annoyance as she crossed her arms impatiently. It's been two hours already, and that little brat hasn't finished his contractual obligations yet. If she knew he'd be so incompetent, she would've just eaten his soul.

Then again, her chores could not afford to wait. And she was _not_ doing them herself when she could have someone else do them for her. Still, this was taking too long. Had she given him a contract more than he could handle? She might have; the Fire Spirits tend to get aggressive when being forced to leave their playground. They might kill the boy if he did or said the wrong thing… 

Maybe she should go check on him? She still had more chores for him to do. Definitely not because she was concerned.

Yeah. She was definitely not concerned about him.

Before she took the first step down the path, the fire walls rimming the swamp to her right dissipated with a _whump_. Down the path, the flames blocking the bridge disappeared, and the minions trapped behind them cheered happily as they walked towards the clock-in machine to end their shift.

The Snatchress blinked, surprised. "Well," She said, her fingertips pressed to her chest in bafflement. "This was unexpected." She then smiled sinisterly. "Perhaps he _could_ handle the hefty tasks." She snapped her finger and the world around her turned purple, lightning flashing and thunder booming. The boy formed in front her, and she clasped her hands together, grinning.

"Well done~" she said, rubbing her hands together. "Please tell me they suffered. You murdered them, right?" She then bent down at the waist. "I bet you strangled them. Good boy~" She said, petting his head and giggling. The boy was too tired to fight it, so all he did was close his eyes and take it.

Moments later, she pulled away and stood straight, her arms crossed under her breasts. "Don't think your job is done yet, though. There's more of these pests around my forest and I need you to get rid of every single one of them," She explained, then smiled. "Next on you to-do list: Clean the Subcon Well. That's right, you're a plumber now! Congratulations on your promotion~!" She piped, clapping excitedly.

"But I'm not Italian," The boy said, concerned. "Or have a mustache! I can't be a plumber without a mustache!"

"Aw, don't worry," She said. "All you have to do is pull a cork from a pipe. I'm nice enough to put something to help you there~" She then snapped her fingers, and two contracts accompanied by quills appeared in a puff of purple smoke. "Enough chatter now. You seem to be capable of multitasking, so I'm giving you an additional contract." The boy threw his head back and let out a long, annoying groan. She simply gave him an unamused look. "Come on now," she reprimanded patiently. "These are things I can't do myself." Here, she smiled. "Besides, as long as I still need you, you get to live! What a deal, huh~?" She added with a wink. He crossed his arms and refused to look at her. The contracts moved closer to him as she spoke. "Pick one, but only one. Isn't it thrilling to sign your life away? Reminds me of my college days~" The boy looked at her curiously, one brow raised. She kept smiling at him, eyes half-lidded and her hands held together in front of her.

Does she ever not smile? Probably. With a sigh of defeat, he turned and looked at the first contract:

_By authorization of The Snatchress, Ruler of Subcon, the contractor must complete the following objectives._

_Enter King Vincent's Manor_

_Find Out What's In The Attic_

There was a small writing next to the first objective that was too small for him to read, despite him squinting and holding the contract close. Giving up, he continued:

_Upon signing, the contractor will gain access to Old Subcon Village and the Manor past the bridge, but are not allowed to venture any deeper._

_The Snatchress will keep the following hostage:_

**YOUR SOUL**

_But they may keep whatever they find along the way._

The boy blinked. That sounded simple enough. He looked at the other one. It was basic mail delivery service, which was also really simple. He looked from one to the other, holding his chin in thought. Which one should he sign?

"Come on, towel boy," The Snatchress urged. "I have other things to do."

He blew a raspberry at her, much to her dismay, then grabbed the quill and signed one of the contracts. She took the paper and looked it up.

For one single moment, something flickered in her eye. Had he blinked, he would have missed it. Something like discomfort, question. Maybe even concern. But, just as it came, it went, and a her smiled widened as she stamped the contract. "Good choice!" She piped. "Let's hope you're up for the task~" The boy crossed his arms and looked away, a scowl on his face.

The Snatchress' brow wrinkled in thought. He looked genuinely upset. Luckily for her, she knew how to cheer him up. "By the way," she said, catching his attention. She reached behind her back and pulled a glowing hourglass. His eyes widened in surprise the moment they landed on it. "You're looking for those Time Pieces, aren't you?"

He stared at her in shock. "You know about them?"

"Obviously," she answered matter-of-factly as she rolled her eyes. Tossing it for him to catch, she rested one hand on her hip. "I found it while I was haunting some poor fool who trespassed on my forest." He caught the Time Piece, a happy grin on his face as he tucked it safely under his towel and she smiled, then frowned sternly. "Keep in mind, however, that this is the only time I will reward you for completing parts of a contract. Because guess what?" she bent slightly forward, smirking playfully, "I'm not legally obligated to~!" She then straightened up, belly laughing as she snapped her fingers. The purple realm around them dissipated and they were back in Subcon Village. Black smoke began to envelop the older woman as she recovered. "By the way," she started. "Since I have your soul, the Time Piece will think you're dead, meaning you're stuck in my forest until you finish your contracts." She then waved at him. "Have fun~"

She then disappeared with the smoke, leaving the boy alone, eyes wide and jaw dropped. He was bamboozled, to put it nicely. Until he finished that weird lady's grunt work, he couldn't teleport back to his spaceship. He was stuck in this spooky forest.

His teeth began to grit. His brows pinched, and his hands clenched to fists. He then let out a scream that echoed across the entire forest, scaring crows away from their nests.

"I HATE THIS PLACE!!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll update the story once every Friday. Also, if things go as planned, there will be two more projects I plan to post later on this week. Be sure to look forward to those :) 
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and if you're enjoying this story, give it a Kudos. Until next time, you have a good one :)


	3. Act 2: All Is Well In The Subcon Well Pt 1

** Act 2: All Is Well In The Subcon Well I **

  
After bombshell of him not being able to go back home until he got his soul back, Hat Boy walked out of the village to… catch some air. Yeah, that's it, he wanted some fresh air. He definitely wasn't crying or anything.

… okay, maybe just a _little_ bit.

After his, ahem, break, Hat Boy was sitting on a tree stump near the bridge, his tongue plastered over the corner of his upper lip in concentration as he sewed the yarn he collected. He was planning to make a hat out of it, but five minutes in, he realized that the yarn he wouldn't be enough for one. Instead, he decided to go for something else: a mask.

Suddenly, rumbling was heard, and he looked around. "Who's there?" He called. The rumbling returned, and he looked down at his stomach when he realized what that sound was.

He was hungry.

"Oh," he said. His stomach growled in response. _Feed me, dummy._

"Alright, sheesh," He said, patting his belly. Tucking the unfinished mask under his cape, he made his way to the creepy lady's house. It was a fifteen minute hike on the dirt path leading up the hill and by the time he reached the too, his feet were mildly hurting him. He crossed the wooden bridge and pushed the door open.

The weird lady was sitting on the loveseat, a book in her hands and her eyes scanning the pages. When he walked in, she looked up, then her brow knitted in mild distaste. "Well?" She started. "Don't you have a well to clean?"

"I'm hungry," Hat Boy replied.

"Awww~" She cooked in mock sympathy. "You poor little thing~" Her act broke when she giggled mean-spiritedly. The boy's cheeks turned pink as his frown got bigger. "Who do you think I am, your mother?" She said, returning to her book as she shooed him with her hand. "Go find yourself some food, little boy."

"But I don't have any," he started. "And I'm _really_ hungry."

She flicked her eyes at him, and he gave her the biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes he could muster and hugged his belly. The Snatchress rolled her eyes with a groan. "Okay, fine," she said. "Go clean the Subcon Well, and I'll get you something to eat."

The boy beamed at her. "Okay!" He piped, then turned and walked out the house. She rolled her eyes and returned to her book. _Kids,_ she thought to herself.

Seconds later, he came back, shoulders slumped and head bowed with his hat in his hands. "Uhm…" he started, fiddling with the rim. "I dunno where the well is…" He muttered coyly. The older woman simply rolled her eyes, a small, amused smile on her lips.

"It's inside the swamp, little boy," she started. "It's also big enough, even a little boy like you can't miss it?" He shot her a dirty look at the short joke, and she giggled playfully. "My minions will help guide you to it." He nodded and turned, but stopped when she spoke again. "Oh, and, uh… try not to fall into the swamp water," shield cautioned, her eye half-lidded and her smirk turning sinister. "It has a _drowning_ sensation to it~"

The boy stared at her; eyes wide. He wasn't sure what she meant but he suddenly felt a _liiiiittle_ bit nervous about stepping into that swamp now. She shooed him with one hand and went back to her book. He sighed, out his hat back on top of his head, and took his leave.

When he was gone, The Snatchress looked at the door, a tiny smile on her lips. She then looked at the mantle on the coat hanger and the basket and umbrella next to it. When he comes back –if he comes back– he will be expecting something to eat. Nothing in Subcon Forest seemed edible for him – some things might eat _him,_ come to think of it– and she was running short on reading material. She scrunched her lips and, after a moment of thought, she made her decision to go do a quick shopping trip.

_Minions,_ she spoke in her head, her eye glowing a faint yellow. _I need one of you to come here promptly._

Not a second later, a poof of purple smoke appeared in front of her, and a little person with a face glowing in yellow spawned before her. "You called, ma'am?" They asked in a young, raspy voice.

"Yes," she said, putting the book beside her and standing up, then walking over to the coat hanger. "The boy is in the swamp. I want you and some of the others to help him make his way to the well so he can clean it."

"Are you going somewhere, Ma'am?" The minion asked.

"I'm going to do a bit of shopping," she answered, putting the mantle on and fastening the button. "I'll be back shortly." She then grabbed the umbrella and basket, then disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

**.oO0Oo.**

In the swamp, the boy was walking down a small, cobblestone path that lead him deeper into the forest. Trees that towers high up into the sky surrounded him, and were it not for the signs and helpful Subconites (He decided to call them that for reference), he was certain he would've gotten lost. Not to mention the fire walls flanking his right. He couldn't see much through the colorful flames, but the forest on the other side seemed to be on fire. Either way, if there were fire walls here, there must be Fire Spirits nearby, and he was contractually obligated to kill them.

… even though they _want_ to die. Kinda messed up, if you asked him.

"Subcon Well is this way!" A Subconite piped, pointing to the left. The boy followed, and he found himself looking at a big swamp with murky, purple water. Tree trunks, skeletons, and… hands(?) Were sticking out of the goop. There were platforms and bridges made out of rotten wood above the surface with lanterns hanging off of some of the dead trees to provide illumination. He walked closer to the bank and looked down at the purple goop; it wobbled like slime, bubbles taking shape on the surface and popping wetly.

What the weird lady said about not falling into the swamp water came back to him. He still wasn't sure what she meant, but he didn't want to find out.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he took the first step on the bridge, the wooden panels creaking loudly, threatening to break under his weight. He quickly made his way across, passing by another Subconite, which pointed the way to the well. Instead, he was looking at a platform with two, bluish Fire Spirits dancing around a bonfire with flames of the same color to his right. Between him and that platform was a big gap with the swamp water in between. He fixed his hat, took a few steps back and took a deep breath before running forward and jumping off the edge of the bridge. Halfway across, he dived through the air, followed by a front flip to cancel the momentum, landing perfectly on the platform. He looked back at the jump he made and scoffed. "Easy," he said to himself before looking back at the Fire Spirits. They pretty much wanted the same thing as the ones he met before, and fifteen minutes later, he threw the last magic painting into their bonfire.

_"Thank yooooou~!"_ They said, before the spirits burst in flames with the bonfire.

"Burn! BURN!! **_BURN!!!_** _"_ The boy cried, fists up in the air and the crazed grin of an arsonist plastered on his face as he laughed madly. When the fire went out, he went back or his initial mission, which was cleaning the well.

He jumped back onto the bridge, then jumped onto another bridge heading left. From where he stood, he was capable of seeing the base of the well, up ahead. He started walking towards it, passing by a Subconite. "They say that if you ring certain bells…" they started, but he couldn't catch the rest when he walked away from them. Conveniently enough, there was another one in front of him. "... Things from other dimensions come into focus!" The boy stopped in his track and gave the minion a quizzical stare. They stared back, and even though they had no face, the boy could _feel_ their smile. He simply rolled his eyes and moved on.

He was at the edge of the bridge now. There was a bell floating in the air on the platform across. The gap was way larger than before. He looked down at the murky goop nervously as the creepy lady's words rang in his head.

_Don't fall into the swamp water. It has a… drowning sensation to it~_

Swallowing a lump in his throat, he took a step back from the ledge. Drowning didn't sound like fun. He wasn't exactly the best swimmer, and this… whatever this purple stuff is, didn't look anything like the water at Mafia Town. His eyes went back to the platform across. It was really far. It was really far away. Did he really have to clean the well?

Yes. Yes, he does. If he backed out now, she would call him chicken –and possibly kill him– so, backing out was not an option.

With his confidence reinforced, he took a few steps back before taking a running start and jumping into the air. At the peak of his jump, he dived forward, the momentum slowing his fall. He was halfway across when he began to lose altitude. He flipped to slow his fall again, but was a few feet short from the platform. His feet dipped into the gooey purple and, in an instant, purple hands popped out of it and wrapped themselves around his ankles. Panic clutched the boy's chest, and he quickly fought his way towards the platform, the hand slowly pulling him deeper into the dark and murky swamp water. He was waist deep into the goop when he reached the platform. Gripping onto its edge, he pulled himself onto it as hard as he could but the hands weren't giving up on him so easy. They grabbed his cape and pulled, the collar choking him as tears filled his eyes. He pulled himself even harder, the fabric painfully digging into his throat as he finally managed to rip himself out of their grip and quickly crawled away from the edge. He caught and held his throat as he forced air into his lungs and stared back at the hands with wide, glistening eyes as they slowly sunk back into the goop.

He sighed in relief and sat down on his butt, then flopped onto his back. His bottom lip quivered slightly and he sucked it into his mouth to stop it. This wasn't fun anymore. He didn't like it here, this place sucked. Everything was trying to kill him. He hated this place. He just wanted to collect the Time Pieces and go home, but now he's forced to do that creepy lady's work. _Stupid swamp,_ he thought bitterly. _Stupid well. Stupid forest. Stupid weird lady._

Well, there was no use of sitting and moaning about things. He still had to do it, whether he liked it or not. With the, he got back to his feet and faced the floating bell. What the Subconites said about ringing them came back to him and, fetching his umbrella, he whacked the bell, making it ring loudly. A mask-wearing noodle –or Dweller, as he likes to call. Them– appeared, its wormy body wrapped around the bell's ring as a big bubble of green light surround him and the trees around him. Some of the hollow branches of the trees turned solid green.

_Eep!_

His head quickly whipped to the back when he heard a girlish yelp come from behind. He could've sworn he saw someone standing over the murky water, just at the edge of the bubble. "Who's there?" He asked, looking around with his umbrella pointing forward. "Show yourself!"

He was met with silence, aside from the bubbly sound of the swamp and crickets. He scrunched his lips in thought as he scanned the area one more time. He must be seeing things now. That wouldn't be a surprise. This swamp _stank._

The green bubble had disappeared now, and ringing the bell again, he climbed up the green branched, standing on the rim of the well and looking down at the dark abyss that was the well's bottom. "Okie dokie," He said, fixing his hat. "Here we go!"

And with that, he jumped into the well.

**.oO0Oo.**

On the very edge of Subcon Forest, The Snatchress spawned. There was more light than at where she lived, much to her displeasure. The trees were greener, squirrels, chipmunks and young Fire Spirits roamed the place. To her right was a dirt path, and down that path was a small town. She popped her umbrella open and stepped out of the shadow, making sure the sunlight doesn't touch her skin.

Despite the Snatchress being the queen of Subcon and the strongest entity to walk this earth, she did have one, tiny weakness: Sunlight.

She gained her power from the souls she could harvest, but the sunlight had always been her weakness. It can't kill her, like it would a vampire, but it weakens her greatly. She wasn't sure why, though; a queen as strong and power as herself to have such an embarrassing weakness like being exposed to the sun. She might as well turn blue.

She was on the sidewalk of one of the streets of the town known as Subcon Ville. Unlike the real Subcon Village, this place was filled with life and joy; kids playing in the streets, people smiling and hardworking and other things she could not bother to mention. It reminded her of her old life, and that was one of many reasons why she hated coming to this place.

She paused at an intersection and waited for a box truck to pass by before crossing the street, heading towards a small shop at the corner with the wooden banner saying BOOK STORE. The bell rang as she opened the door and walked in. Behind the desk, a young man with black hair, blue eyes, and soft features sat. He was wearing glasses, and a tiny smile as he read a book, the title concealed by his hand. When she walked in, he looked up, and his eyes brightened as his smile grew tenfold.

He was excited to see her.

"Ah, my favorite customer!" He piped putting his book aside as she closed her umbrella. "I'm assuming you've already finished your newest books?"

"Almost," was her reply. "Have you gotten anything new for me?"

He silently held up a finger for her and bowed under his desk, rummaging through it. Moments later, he came back with three books in hand and put them on the table for display. "First, we have _Islands In The Sea,_ by Randall Flagg himself," he said as he gestured to the first book. "It's a romantic tragedy novel, where a ship crewman and a nurse fall in love only to be forced apart by war and duty. I reckon you love those types of novels?" He smirked knowingly, and she returned it with a smile. He knew her taste so well.

"Next up," he gestured to the book in the middle, "we have _Old As Time,_ also by Randall Flagg. It's a horror novel that tells the story of a family moving into a haunted house. Ooooh, spooky~!" he said, moving his hand in a faux spooky manner. She simply rolled her eyes.

"Lastly, we have-"

"I'll take all three of them," She interrupted. For a moment, he stared at her, confused. Then, he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Of course you will," He said. "That'll be two-hundred pons, my lady."

She put her basket on the table and fished out a small bag of money from underneath her mantle. With the transaction complete, she placed the books in her basket, nodded her thanks and walked out the door after opening her umbrella.

With her reading materials in hand, she now had to get the little boy something to eat. Her brows knitted as she looked left and right at the storefronts. Hmmm, what would a kid want for food?

That's when she noticed the food truck down the road. Hm. Maybe it sells kid food? She didn't know, but it was her best option. So, she walked over to it, and realized that the person selling was actually a cat. "You wanna buy something?"

"Yes, but not for me," she answered. "I have a kid who's hungry, but I'm not sure what to get him. Do you know what food kids eat?"

The cat rubbed his chin in thought and hummed. "Well," it started, "this is the kids menu. You can take your pick." He then pointed at a small chalkboard. On it was a list consisting of a cheese burger (4 pons), French fries (2 pons), mini cookies (3 pons) and chocolate milk (2 pons). She wasn't sure what those were, but it seems like it was what kids eat.

"I'll take all of them," She said, dropping a handful of pons on the table top. The cat nodded and got to work making her food. While she waited, she took a look at her surroundings: across the road, a group of girls were playing hopscotch, giggling and smiling. On a bench was an old man throwing crumbs at pigeons. On the other corner of the street were two women having a conversation, one of them had her back turned at a stroller, which was slowly rolling downhil towards the road. The Snatchress looked behind her, and found a flatbed filled with fruit crates hurling towards the intersection. She looked back at the stroller, then at the vehicle. The truck was going to hit the stroller.

With quick subtlety, she waved a glowing fingertip, and one of the tiles of the sidewalk shot up, blocking the stroller's path and preventing it from going on the road as the massive truck whizzed by, displacing the air around it. She flicked her eye around, making sure no one noticed. With the coast clear, a root came out from underneath the tile and began to push the stroller back to where the two women were conversing. It locked the brakes, then slowly slid back under the tile. A small smile touched her face as she looked back at the cat which had just finished bagging her food. "Here you go," he said, handing her the bag. She took it with a curt nod, and set it in her basket before she made her way back towards the tree line.

She might be a soul-snatching shadow demoness, but even _she_ had a heart. Besides, who knows? If that baby lives, they might become a future contractor for her ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll update the story once every Friday. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and if you're enjoying this story, give it a Kudos. Until next time, you have a good one :)


	4. Act 2: All Is Well In The Subcon Well Pt 2

**Act 2: All Is Well In The Subcon Well II**

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

_**SPLASH!** _

After several seconds of falling, Hat Boy found himself submerged in water. Unlike the swamp water, however, he didn't feel himself being pulled down to the bottom, which was good. The water was very cold, though, and he quickly swam upwards. He broke the surface with a loud gasp and quickly made his way out of the freezing water, his shaky breaths puffing out from his lips. He wrapped his arms around his chest, shivering as he took a look around him. 

There were two exits, one on his side of the lake and one on the other. He could see a large pipe in the ground, blocked by a large cork through the one across. Turning around, he found the entrance framed by what he assumed was the large ribcage of a dead creature. Through it, he saw a massive block of ice at the top of a small hill. Looking between the two entrances, he picked the one closest to him. The water was way too cold for him to swim across again anyway.

The room was a lot larger than he initially thought. There were patches of ice on the walls and frozen roots thrusting high up near the walls with smaller ones scattered around the open space, bats and lanterns hanging off of them, the formers staring at the boy with blood red eyes. There was a number of cherry bombs scattered around and a Dweller floated near the ice block. "Wow," the boy said, looking around.

Suddenly, a loud, metal _clank!_ came to his ears from behind. He whipped his head around and, much to his horror, metal spikes blocked the exit. He ran back to them and gripped the cold metal in his hands, pulling at it with all his might but to no avail. 

Great. He was stuck now.

He sighed and pulled his hands away from the metal bars. 

"Ow!" Sudden burning came from his hands as he released the bars, making him wince in pain. He looked at his hands and saw batches of skin on his palms were peeled off, leaving the flesh underneath bloody and red. "This doesn't look good," he commented. He then grabbed the hem of his cape and ripped off a strip of fabric, wrapped it around one bloody palm, then ripped another for his other palm. He tied them securely, then clenched his fists to test them; they still burn, but it was manageable.

Nodding to himself, he went over to one of the cherry bombs, picked it up, and walked over to the Dweller. It dove into the cherry and it started to throb and beep with an orange glow emanating from its core. He dropped it by the ice block, ran a few feet away, then crouched and plugged his fingers into his ears.

_**BOOM!!** _

The muffled sound of the explosion reached his ears, and he looked back at the shattered block of ice. There was a red treasure chest in place. He walked over, popped it open, and looked inside. "No way," he said, a big grin crossing his face. He reached into the box and pulled out a blue badge with a grappling hook sticker on it.

Could this be what he thought it could be? Oh, he hoped it was. He reached under his cape and pulled out a small, silver pin. He attached to the badge and pinned it to his top hat and looked it over. Nodding to himself, he put it back on top of his head. He then reached under his cape again and pulled out his trusted brolly.

A few days ago, he met this weird person called the Badge Seller in an island called Mafia Town. He saw this same badge when he tried to sell it for five-hundred pons, which he didn't have. This badge will give your weapon a grappling hook, they said, you can use it to swing and grab onto things out of your reach.

His umbrella wasn't really a weapon, but he _did_ beat up a few baddies with, so technically, it was his weapon. In a way.

He looked it up in his hand, looking for anything new or different. The only thing he found was two buttons next to each other on the handle. One was was blue, the other was red. He pressed the blue button and flinched when three metal talons popped out of the tip of the umbrella, forming a claw. His grin widened as he held it closer to his face. "So cool!" He said, then looked at the two buttons. "If blue activates the hookshot…" He trailed off as he pressed the red button. The grappling hook flew off the umbrella, a small chain tracing after it as it clang tightly to one of the lanterns. 

" _BWAH!!_ " He cried as he found himself get pulled up off the ground. He tightly held on to the umbrella, wincing as his palms stung. He looked down and found his legs dangling a few feet over the ground. He looked up and saw the hook locked tightly around the base of the lantern. A crooked grin appeared on his face as an idea came to him. He kicked his feet back, then forth. Back, then forth, he swung himself, the chain clattering as he tossed his weight back and forth. 

At the peak of his swing, he pressed the red button and the hook released, sending him high in the air as the chain retracted. He performed an elegant backflip in the air and landed perfectly atop the frozen root holding the lantern. From his new vintage point, he could see a wooden platform sitting on two large pipes with a red button on it. That must be the button to make those iron bars blocking the exit retract. How to get to it, though? He looked around but found no ladders or any paths. Instead, he saw a number of lanterns conveniently placed for his hookshot to come in handy.

Preparing his hookshot, he took a step back, then jumped towards the other lantern. Aiming his hookshot, he clung on to it, then swung towards the next one. He repeated the process multiple times until he finally reached the platform and landed on the button. The iron bars finally dropped and gave him his way out. "Easy," he said to himself, a smug look on his face as he jumped down and made his way out of the cave.

He was back at the area where the lake he first landed in now, and the smug look on his face was replaced with an uncertain one. The water was very cold and he didn't want to get wet again; he was shivering as it was. He looked around for a way around the water, and was quite pleased to find the end of a tree root sticking out over the small lake. Using his hookshot, he swung over the icy cold lake and landed on the other side, safe and dry… well, as dry as he could be.

"This thing is so awesome!" He yelled, shaking his hookshot umbrella excitedly. Once he was calm, he walked into the room with the pipe and cork. There was a rope attached to the cork, which ended with a… noose?

You know what? He was done trying to find logic in this place. He aimed his hookshot at the nose and fired, the hook clinging tightly onto it. He then pulled, but the cork wouldn't budge. He pulled harder, and pain filled his hands, but he ignored it. He could feel the cork slipping out now. Just… a little… More…

_**POP!** _

he fell back on his butt with a grunt as the cork popped out of the pipe and hot air began to blow out. The boy got back on his feet and rubbed his fanny when, suddenly, the ground began to shake. Uh-oh, he thought, looking at the ground warily. This doesn't sound good.

And out of nowhere, water gushed out of giant pipes sticking out the walls above him and slowly began to flood the room. In second, the water was up to his knees, and he nervously looked around for a way out. To his horror, however, the way he came from was no longer an option, as the ground shaking caused some rocks to fall down and block the exit. He looked up and saw that there were a few wooden platforms, ladders, and broken pipes that could form a path higher up. He then looked down at the pipe blowing air and an idea came to him.

With newfound hope for an exit, the boy jumped into the airstream and was lifted up into the air. He landed on a wooden platform and from there, he made his way up the well. He'd take the occasional look down, and see that the water level was increasing quickly. Instead of growing nervous, he fought on, jumping from pipe to pipe, swinging over with his hookshot, and whacking away at giant spiders suddenly dropping from above.

He finally made it to the top, where a tunnel waited for him and a few cherry bombs next to it. He smiled in relief as he walked over to it on shaky feet, only to frown, shoulders sagging when he saw the tunnel was blocked by a wall ice thick ice.

Wait a minute…

He took a harder look at the ice and, much to his pleasant surprise, there was a Time Piece trapped inside! How did it get trapped there, though? He had no idea, nor did he care, he needed to break the ice was all he knew.

He walked over to the pile of cherry bombs, and the Dweller from earlier fazed through the wood and watched him pick up a cherry. "Quick!" The boy said, presenting the cherry. "Make it explode!"

Following the instructions, the Dweller dove into the cherry, arming it to explode. The boy quickly ran into the tunnel and threw it at the ice blocking the exit.

_**BOOM!** _

The boy grinned when he saw the ice wall get blown to pieces. Before he could grab the Time Piece, however, the ground beneath him began to shake harder than before. The Dweller reappeared next to him and they both slowly turned around and looked back just in time to see a wall of water heading directly towards them.

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

Back in Subcon Village, a Subconite was sitting on one of the wooden planks laid over the river bed, their stubby legs swinging back and forth, their face glowing as they examined a rainbow-colored rock. Literally. There wasn't much in Subcon Forest that one would deem as "pretty", but there were a few things that were worth looking at. Like this rainbow rock. They remembered where those rocks come from. From a time where this forest was a happier place. It made them happy to hold this rock and memorize the old times when things were much more simple. At the same time, however, it made them… sad.

Memories of them in a former life came back, one of them showing a little boy in an orange fox mask, laughing as he and others painted funny looking rocks with many different colors, followed by another one showing the same boy in a white, frilly cape with a small, pumpkin-shaped bucket filled with candy in his hands, showing off his costume to other kids wearing different masks and outfits. Then, a third memory of a beautiful woman with brown hair in a red tunic, yellow pants, and the brightest smile giving him and others more as they held their pumpkin buckets out.

A sad sigh escaped the Subconite, their shoulders sagging. Things were so much better back then. " I miss those times," they muttered to themselves.

"What times?"

The Subconite flinched as a second voice spoke from behind. He looked back and saw no other than The Snatchress standing there, in a brown mantle and an umbrella, as well as a basket filled with books. The minion quickly hid his rainbow rock under his cape. "N-nothing," they answered nervously.

"Don't you dare lie to me, minion," she said, more playful than reprimanding. "You were thinking about something, am I right?"

The Subconite couldn't meet her gaze as they shifted uncomfortably. He nodded meekly in response. "I miss my old life…" they said, looking down at the river bed shamefully. "I want it back but… I know that'll never happen…"

The Snatchress simply stood there for several moments, her expression hard to read. She then sighed and walked over, taking a seat next to them and letting her feet dangle over the river bed as well. This minion was the newest of the bunch to sign her contract. As a Dweller, she'd convinced him to sign her contract, where she has their unquestionable loyalty in exchange for a body. When she did, she learned that their name was Tizzy. Not only were they the newest, it turned out they were the youngest of her minions. At the time of their untimely deaths, her minions' ages were somewhere between eight and twelve years old. Tizzy was only five years old, which was surprising to her. Dwellers that young are ultra rare to exist. And so, since they was just a little child, The Snatchress had to be nicer to them than she was with the others.

For a while, she just sat there, her brow pinched as she thought of words to use. "It's okay to miss it," she finally said, her voice carrying a hint of sympathy Tizzy never heard before from her. They looked up at her, and she smiled down at them as she reached under her mantle and pulled out a rock with many different colors that looked very much like theirs. This one had the letters L and V written in beautiful calligraphy. Tizzy's eyes metaphorically widened at their sight. "I miss my old life too, sometimes." She then looked at the rock and traced her thumb over its texture. "I keep this rock to help me whenever the nostalgia hits me."

Tizzy stared at her for a moment, surprised to hear that even their boss misses her old life as well. "What was it like?" They asked, then timidly added: "your old life."

The Snatchress hummed, her black lips scrunched to the side. "Simple," she finally answered. "It was a simple one. I liked it a lot." She felt she'd said enough without telling the full truth. Luckily, it seemed to be a good enough answer for Tizzy. She rested her hand atop their head and continued. "We all lost something we valued in Subcon, so don't feel bad." She drew her hand away when Tizzy nodded.

"Thanks, boss," They said, standing up. She nodded, and they scampered away. She watched after them for a moment before looking forward at a cave blocked by a cluster of boulders and sighed. Where is that boy anyway? She'd left and returned and he still haven't finished cleaning the well? Was he dead? No, he was alive. Otherwise, his contract would be destroyed.

As if on que, the pile of rocks rumbled. They started to shake a second later, and then exploded with a gush of water rushing out the blocked tunnel, a Time Piece conveniently landing on her lap as the boy was dragged by the current, screaming. A Dweller swam through the air over her head a second after.

The current slowed when he entered the once empty lake in the middle of Subcon Village. The Subconites cheered happily as the water returned with some Dwellers already swimming in it. At the stone steps leading out of the water, the boy weakly crawled himself out of the water, completely soaked. Every muscle in his body hurt, mainly his palms. Once he was on dry, solid land, he flopped on his back, eyes closed and coughed out the water in his lungs while fighting to catch his breath.

No more plumbing work for him. He didn't care if that creepy lady would kill him, he was NOT cleaning wells again. He'll leave that task to those Italian plumbers.

"There's my little plumber~" A voice spoke playfully above him. He couldn't be bothered to suppress his groan. "I was starting to get worried that a big, stinky lizard got you~"

He opened his eyes and shot her a dirty look. "Grown ups should pull kids out of wells, not send them _into_ them," he retorted. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, when my name becomes Lassie, and yours Timmy, _then_ I'll do that." She shot back. The boy stood up and faced her, unamusement written on his face.

"Can I eat now?" He asked, his stomach growling for emphasis.

"Oh. Right," she said, then snapped her fingers and a big, white paper bag with a smiley cat face appeared in her upturned palm. The sweet scent of cookies that he could identify anywhere struck his nose like the parasol of a little girl and his mouth watered. He licked his lips and held his hands out with a big smile on his face. The Snatchress couldn't help but smile at his childish excitement. 

The moment her eye landed on his hands, however, that smile disappeared. His palms were wrapped with dirty cloths of yellow fabric, much like the one from his cape. His fingers were bruised and scraped, and he was completely soaked. 

A strange feeling manifested in her nonexistent heart as a fleeting image crossed her mind. One of a little boy, smiling the same smile with a small bandage wrapped around one of his hands as he held them out to a woman with brown hair, in a red tunic, and wrapping the bandage around his hand. It only lasted for a fletting moment, but it was long enough to trigger a switch deep inside her that she never knew it existed anymore.

Concern.

Before she could think, she got down to her knees, resting the paper bag aside as she tenderly held the backs of his hands in hers and examined the damage. "How did this happen?" She asked. She could hear the hint of concern in her own voice. God, she hoped he wouldn't pick it up.

The boy could only blink and stare, surprised. Was she acting, or was she actually concerned about him? "Uh... I-I touched some really cold metal bars," he answered. He was expecting a snarky comment or a mean joke, if he was honest, but she did neither. Instead, her brow knitted and she grabbed his wrist in one hand and the paper bag in the other, then pulled him with her.

"You shouldn't have touched those with your bare hands," she reprimanded as she walked towards the entrance of the village, Subconites and Dwellers watching them as they went, surprise in their eyes (if they had any, that is).

The one most surprised by her behavior was no other than The Snatchress herself. She couldn't believe what she was doing, nor could she stop herself if she tried. For some unknown reason, she felt the urge to care for his injury, as if some maternal instinct kicked in at the sight of his maimed palms that drove her into acting the way she did.

A short walk later, she walked through the front door and let go of the boy's wrist. "Loveseat. Now," she commanded. He wasn't sure what her plan was, but chose not to argue and do as he was told. She put the paper bag on a small table next to the door, then walked over and stood in front of him. The bench before the grand piano moved on its own, positioning itself conveniently behind her to sit on. "Let me see your hands again."

He held his hands out for her again. She faced his palms down and untied the cloth of his left hand first, then his right. She peeled them off slowly, being extra careful not to cause him too much pain. From the quiet hissing and wincing coming from him, she failed that task. Once they were off, she tossed them aside, then turned his palms upwards and the boy cringed. "Gross," he said.

"Yeah," was all.she could say as she eyed his palms. There were red patches of skin that was peeled, a layer of dried blood coating his palms as the exposed flesh was bruised purple and circled with red, a clear sign of infection. She pursed her lips in thought. These aren't as simple as she had initially hoped. "Wait here," she said, standing up and walking out of the cottage. She walked around to the back, where a few, giant plants were. One of them was purple in color, it's petals looking similar to hearts and glistening in the light provided by lanterns and glowing mushrooms. She snapped her fingers as she neared it, and a bowl spawned in her hand. Grabbing onto one of the petals, she squeezed, glittery slime slowly drooping into the bowl. Once she felt she collected enough, she let go of the petal and made her way back into the cottage, where the boy was still waiting. She sat down in front of him and sat the bowl in her lap. "Dip your hands inside," she instructed. The boy looked warily at the substance in the bowl, then up at her. "It'll help your hands heal," she assured, and smiled expectantly.

Knowing no better, the boy slowly dipped his hands into the slimey goo. For a moment, he felt nothing, then sudden stinging came to his hands. "Ow," He helped, attempting to pull his hands away, but The Snatchress quickly grabbed his wrist and kept them in place. "It hurts!" He whined.

"I know," she started, "but it'll help your hands heal. I need you to be a little brave now."

The boy closed his eyes and endured the pain, tears standing at the corners of his eyes. The stinging lasted a minute, before it slowly faded, leaving him with the strange feeling of the goo warm goo. It feels like mucus, he thought to himself. "Did the pain stop?" She asked. The boy nodded. "Good. Now you can pull them out."

She didn't have to tell him twice. He pulled them out, thick ropes of slime connecting his hands to the bowl. "Ew," he said, then giggled as the ropes were cut. She put the bowl away, then stood up and walked over to the closet at the corner of the room. She opened the right side and pulled out a small, white box with a red plus mark from the handle, then walked back. The boy stared quizzically at it. "Why do you have a first aid kit?" He asked.

"I read a nursing book once," she answered, sitting back on the bench and opening the kit. She grabbed a wad of cotton in one hand and a bottle of red liquid in the other. She pressed the cotton to the bottle's lip and tipped it, coating the former with the latter. She put the bottle back and grabbed his hand, then gently dabbed the cotton on the bruised flesh that was now clean of dirt, thanks to the weird slime.

After she finished dabbing it with the cotton, she grabbed more cotton and pressed it against his palms, then grabbed a bandage and securely wrapped it around one hand, then did the same with the other. His hands were completely wrapped by the time she was finished. She examined her work, then nodded to herself. "This should do the trick," she said, letting him go. "You can go now."

Grinning, the boy grabbed his food and quickly headed for the door, but paused halfway across and looked back at The Snatchress as she closed the first aid kit and walked back to the closet to put it away. "Uhm, thanks," He said. She turned her head towards him and he awkwardly held a bandaged hand. "For this. Thanks."

She blinked, not really sure what to say back. "Whatever," She said, shooting him away as she looked away. The boy smiled, then left. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he first thought. A little weird, yes, but not bad at all.

Maybe… maybe she's just in need of a friend…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to keep the chapters at an average of 4k words up until this point. Do you want the chapter to be longer? Let me know.
> 
> Also, the reason The Snatchress walked all the way back to her house is because she can't teleport Hat Boy with her.


	5. Act 3: King Vincent's Manor

**Act 3: King Vincent's Manor**

Hat Boy wasn't the smartest, he'll admit that. But he wasn't stupid either. For the past hour, he had been thinking about The Snatchress, her contracts, and her intentions behind them. The contracts she gave him weren't just pointless tasks just to give him a hard time for her amusement. Take the Fire Spirits part of his recent contract: when he "killed" them, he opened up the barriers around the forest that kept some of the Subconites trapped. Sending him down the well to clean it brought the water back to the forest. She may front like she's a villain, but she wasn't fooling him. There was good in her, he just knew it.

Presently, Hat Boy was sitting on a bench alongside the dirt path, the white paper bag sat open by his left side and a big cup of chocolate milk by his right. In his hands was a half-eaten cheeseburger that he nommed away on, crumbs and stains of ketchup on his cheeks and a look of absolute bliss on his face. Why is the food on this planet is so good? He thought to himself as he took another bite.

While he was busy stuffing his mouth, a young Fire Spirit, barely more than a little flame, slowly approached on all-fours from behind and sniffing the ground as it went. It looked up at the boy eating his food, then at the paper bag next to him. Its ears twitched in interest, then moved closer. The little fox stood straight on their back feet, its paws holding onto the edge of the bench and curiously sniffing the bag. Its head tilted in interest before holding the bag with its mouth. The bag rustled and alarmed the boy. He looked to his side and his eyes met the pup's, his mouth stopping mid-chew.

They simply stared at each other, completely frozen in place… then, the little Fire Spirit broke out in a run on all-fours, the paper bag held tightly in its mouth. The pup zigzagged around trees, jumped over tree roots, and slipped between bushes. Of all the little Fire Spirits in the nest, it was the fastest runner. There was no way that human could catch it once they got going.

Or so it thought, until it found the human standing in front of them.

The pup quickly skidded to a stop and looked up at him from his feet, eyes wide open in shock. "Just where do you think you're going with my lunch?" The boy asked, hands at his hips and looking unamused. The young pup took a few steps back, ears folded back in fear. A yelp escaped it when it rear bumped back into a tree. They were trapped now. A twittering whine escaped the small creature as the boy approached and, in a state of panic, the little Fire Spirit threw the bag away as distraction and ran into the nearest bush. The boy watched them go, brows slightly pinched, then walked to his paper bag and picked it up. He opened it, and found the mini-cookies inside. That Fire Spirit must have been hungry, but why didn’t they just ask? They were probably too young to speak yet, he reasoned.

Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a mini cookie and offered it to where the pup was hiding. "You hungry, buddy?" He asked, shaking the cookie for them, then threw it, landing it a couple of feet away from the bush. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a small nose poked out, sniffing the air. The little Fire Spirit poked its head out and snuck a peek. When its eyes landed on the treat on the ground, it left the safety of its bush, taking a wary glance at the human. It wasn't sure whether this was a good idea or not, but the temptation was too strong to resist. Plus, it may not understand words, but the boy had an oddly comforting aura that emanated warmth, like a small bonfire the elders use for their rituals.

In other words, it felt safe in his presence.

Carefully approaching the treat, they sniffed it, then bopped it with a paw and it instantly burst into flames. The flames went out as quickly as they came, leaving a burned up mini cookie that the Fire Spirit ate. "Whoa," the boy said as he watched. "You guys really do eat fire for breakfast."

Suddenly, a sting came to the middle of his skull and he winced, his hand going to his temple. "Ow," he muttered, then the contract he signed came to the forefront of his mind. "Right. The manor."

He rolled the bag closed, then hid it under his cape and walked away at the same time the Fire Spirit had finished its treat. It looked up and watched the boy walk away, its ears folded back.

The boy was back on the dirt path and making his way up the hill. He crossed the bridge and was about to push the door open when a sudden sound came to his ears from the inside. He pressed his ear to the door and his eyes grew twice their size as he listened.

Was that… a Piano?

He slightly pushed the door open and peeked through the crack. Much to his shocking surprise, The Snatchress sat on the bench in front of the grand piano, her fingers fleetingly dancing over the keys and her feet pressing the pedals as she played a beautiful melody.

The boy's jaw dropped to his chest in surprise. She can actually _play it?_ He thought the thing was there for show purposes, he didn’t know! And she's really good too! Oh, Gabby Grooves would _love_ to hear this.

"I know you're out there, boy," she said without even looking. "Stop gaping like a dying fish and come in." The boy clamped his mouth shut, fixed him hat and walked in. She stopped playing, then turned around, one leg over the other and her hands on the bench. "What is it?"

"I wanna do the manor contract," he started, fiddling with his bandaged hands, "but I dunno where to find it."

"The bridge," she said, looking at her fingertips. "cross the bridge and I'll have my minions show you where to go beyond it." The boy nodded and turned around and began to walk away when she spoke. "Oh, and boy?" He stopped and looked back at her. She had a weird look in her eye that disappeared the moment she spoke. "They say that death is the coldest thing one could embrace." She chuckled mirthlessly and shook her head. "From my experience, I can tell you they are wrong."

He tilted his head, looking so confused. She simply rolled her eyes and waved him off. "Just don't die. I still have work for you," she said, and he left.

When she was alone, she massaged her temples with her fingertips. _Get a grip of yourself, woman,_ she thought to herself. _Why are you even concerned about that little boy?_

_**Because you care~** _

_No, I don't!_

_**It's really sweet, actually~** _

She was about to have an argument with her inner self when she felt a gentle tug at the hem of her dress, cutting her monologue short. She looked down and frowned when she saw it was no more than a little Fire Spirit chewing on her dress. "Oh, no you don't!" She barked, snatching it from its nape. The little fox yelped in surprise as it got lifted to meet the harsh glare of The Snatchress. "My dress is _not_ your chew toy!"

She was familiar that Fire Spirits at this age have no grasp of the language, but she hoped she at least scared it with her tone of voice. From the way it smiled and reached at her with its tiny paws, however, she deduced that she had failed. At its current age, it was normal; they don't understand what alarm is, therefore, they have no understanding of what to be scared of and what to avoid coming near of. She could easily snuff it out, as it only had enough flame to sustain. It didn't have the magic the elder ones have yet, nor can it rebirth from its ashes. If she killed it now, it would die for good.

Despite how many times the opportunity presented itself for her, however, she was never able to actually do it. Fire Spirits are an endangered species, and were it not for their rituals and her giving them their own portion of her forest to manifest in, they would have been long gone from the face of the Earth.

Still, she couldn’t let them hang around her home. Even as little pups, Fire Spirits have the ability to make a big mess whenever they play around, not to mention how annoying scraping their ashes off her floor can be.

She held the pup at arm's length and walked over to the door, then released her hand and let him drop to the wooden bridge. "Go find someplace else to get snuffed, little twerp," she said before slamming the door in its face. The little fox stood up and huffed at the door before scampering across the bridge.

_**See? You could've killed it, but you didn’t. you really do care, hehe~** _

"Shut up," she muttered to herself, then sighed. She was talking to herself now. She was losing her mind. Next thing she knew, she'd have a dozen cats and a body pillow of some little girl with overgrown body parts and watching some of those bird movies on the internet. Ugh. Ruling this forest was definitely taking a toll on her. She needed a break.

Suddenly feeling drained, she went over to the loveseat to lay down for a bit.

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

The boy stared at an open field, completely covered in snow with more falling from the sky. There were no trees to block the sky, but he was still unable to see the sun (if it was daytime anyway) from the dark clouds above. He looked at the line of massive trees across the bridge, then back at the snowy field. How can it snow here and not there? Why does this place make no sense?

Shaking his head in confusion, he moved on, completely missing the circle of roots hidden carefully under the snow. The moment he stepped into the circle, the roots thrust up into the air, trapping him. Before he knew what was happening, the world around him turned dark purple, lightning flashing with thunder booming as a familiar figured formed in front of him, her eye glowing yellow and her grin sinister. She threw her head back and laughed in a distorted voice like one of those villains in the comic books he read.

_**”AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! FOOOOOOOOO-!!!"**_

Her act broke when she actually saw who stepped into her trap. "Oh," she said, her voice going back to normal. She blinked and her eye stopped glowing. "It's you."

The boy smiled and waved at her. She looked around to see if there was someone else, but there was none, much to her disappointment. She looked back at the boy, still smiling at her and she smirked. "Well, this is awkward," she commented, one hand going to her hip. "I was kind of expecting a new victim to step into my trap. I've already taken your soul and everything." Here, her face turned serious. "Have you finished your contractual obligations yet?" The boy looked down and shook his head timidly. "Of course you haven't," she said tightly. She then took a deep breath. "Don't take this personal, kid," she started evenly, "but stay clear of my traps. There's so many times my lovely voice can handle yelling like that." She then smirked and playfully ruffled his hair. He giggled and pulled away from her. "You're taking the experience away from other people~!"

She was about to deactivate her trap when a metaphorical light bulb turned on in her head. "Uh, but since you _did_ step into my trap, I might as well extend our business endeavors~!" She piped, clapping her hands girlishly. She then snapped her fingers and two contracts with quills spawned in a puff of smoke. "Pick your poison," she said. "Which burden would you like to carry for the rest of your life~?"

The boy held his chin in thought and looked from one to the other; the first was the mail delivery contract, and the second was about getting rid of a possessed toilet. He didn't want to touch a smelly toilet, so he signed the mail delivery contract. Once he was done, she took the paper from him and looked it up. "Not a bad choice!" She said as she stamped her approval, blue flames engulfing the paper and leaving nothing but a speck of ash. "You're leaving difficult contracts for the newbies, which is really rude when you think about it~"

He blinked. There are others?

"Whatever," she shrugged, "I'm off. Smell you later, Towel boy~!" She quipped, giggling as she snapped her fingers and released the trap. He was back on the snowy field now, alone.

"It's a cape," he muttered passively. He started walking across the field and found a Subconite standing next to a number of warning signs next to a purple lump of icy wall.

"Manor's this way!" They piped, pointing at a bell with a Dweller holding it up.

"How am I supposed to get across?" The boy asked.

"Ring certain bells and some things come into focus," the Subconite explained, "and others come out of it." Makes sense, the boy thought. Walking over to the floating bell, he pulled out his umbrella and whacked it with his umbrella. A green bubble of light emerged from the bell and grew to large proportions beyond the purple ice. It turned hollow in the area the bubble covered and the boy walked through.

It took him a few minutes to get through a maze of ice walls, Dweller bells and platforms. And as he went, a single thought in his head kept making itself known.

What was that all of this was made to keep in?

He was bound to find out, he realized as he stared at a torn down gate laying on the snow, broken. He looked ahead and saw a massive manor looming in the distance. Some of the windows on the upper floors were lit, giving the manor the appearance of the face of a giant, staring harshly at him. The hairs in the back of the boy's neck stood straight, and it wasn't the cold. Swallowing a lump in his throat, the boy walked towards the manor, going against the advice of every fiber in his being.

The closer he got to the manor, the harder it snowed. He was walking across the top of a frozen lake as he neared the manor, the tingling in the back of his neck growing more incessant with every step he took. It looked twice as big as he thought it was from the distance, and he had to hold his hat to his head, lest it gets carried away from the wind.

He was at the bottom of the front steps now. Two tall, headless statues stood on both sides of him, snow covering the steps and at the top was a big set of double doors locked up with chains and a massive padlock. Swallowing a lump in his throat, the boy slowly walked up the steps, pausing to take a look at the statues on the sides. Something seemed off about them, as if… they were watching him…?

He shook his head. Sheesh, the cold was getting to him. He walked up the steps and approached the double doors. He grabbed the padlock and pulled on it to see if it would break, but to no use. He dropped the look, took a step back and took a good look at the door: it was heavily locked, which meant he had to find another way in. He turned around, and his blood froze in his veins at the sight of the statues halfway up the steps, both facing him than facing the lake when he first saw them.

As if this place wasn't scary enough, it had living statues now. Suddenly, he didn't want to be here anymore. Looking to his left, he was happy to find a small corridor leading around to the side of the manor. He stole one more glance at the statues before speed walking down that corridor, listening carefully in case he heard their footsteps behind him. Halfway across the corridor, he peeked through the gaps in the wall and looked at the front steps; they were back in their original spot at the bottom of the steps, facing the lake. Sighing in relief, he continued.

He was on a balcony now, another set of steps leading down to the snow to his right and massive spikes of ice jutting from the ground to his left. There was no wind here, even though it was snowing heavily outside of the balcony. He jumped off the rail, his feet dipping into the snow at his landing, and looked around the manor, looking for an open window, a backdoor, or any way inside. He was glad to find a set of double doors, possibly the entrance to a cellar. He made his way through the snow and cold wind, his hands holding the rim of his hat to keep it from getting carried by the blizzard that mercilessly battered him. When the double doors were at hand's reach, they forcefully swung open. The boy jumped, startled, then slowly approached and peered down. There was a flight of stairs that lead down to pitch black. Literally. It was so dark he could barely see after the fourth step down.

He gulped loudly, taking a step back from the basement's entrance. He wasn't necessarily scared of the dark –babies get scared of the dark, and he was not a baby– but the idea of going into the dark basement of a big old house in the middle of nowhere didn't feel like a great idea either. A wave of discomfort washed over him, coming straight from the depth of the cellar. Every fiber in his being told him to turn around and run away, but for some reason, he locked up. His heartbeat started racing, his breathing becoming ragged as he stared into the abyss. He really didn't want to be here anymore. He didn't want to be on this planet anymore; he just wanted to go home.

Tears stood at the corners of his eyes and he tightly gripped the rim of his top hat. The familiar sensation of his trusted companion calmed him a bit, and the beating of his heart slowed slightly. Hold on to this hat whenever you feel scared or unsure, a familiar woman's voice rang in the middle of his skull, speaking with a soft and tender tone. And whenever you feel lost, it will help you find your way, so be nice to it.

Following that advice, he held onto the hat as if his life depended on it. The warmth the hat provided, combined with the gentle words of the woman's voice slowly calmed him down, his breathing stable and his heart no longer racing. The discomfort he felt earlier was gone now and, with newfound confidence, he opened his eyes and looked at the bottom of the steps; it wasn't so bad now. A little dark, yes, but it was nothing he couldn't manage.

Nodding with newfound confidence, he stepped into the cellar.

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

As expected, the interior of the cellar was pitch black. He took the steps down slow, tapping the next step with his tippy toes to be sure it was there. He was halfway down to the bottom when the doors suddenly slammed shut, startling the boy and making him jump. For a moment, it was all black. Then, the torches on the walls lit up by themselves, casting the cellar in warm, golden light. He could see the cellar now; the floor was flooded with murky water, more dripping from the ceiling. The steps leading down were covered in a thin layer of ice and there was a grid of wooden pillars shaping a wall before him, a number of large, wooden barrels were placed beyond. He looked to his left and found a pair of chains, completely covered in ice, were hanging off the wall, looking like they broke at some point. The smell of rotten flesh found his nostrils and he gagged before he pinched his nose to block the awful reek. "This place needs a makeover," he muttered, "and a ton of air freshner."

Realizing he would have to walk through the filthy water, the sat down and removed his shoes, holding them in his hand before he stood up and walked into the water. "Cold, cold, cold," he repeated, wincing at the icy water stinging his bare feet. As he crossed the frozen chains, the smell was too strong for him to bare and he was forced to hold his breath. It was definitely coming from the water, or whatever was underneath it, at least.

He rounded the corner and saw a set of double doors with a big lock keeping them closed. Great, now he had to look for-

"Hey, newbie?"

_"BAH!"_ He cried, whipping around and pointing the dangerously pointy tip of his umbrella at whoever spoke. It was a Subconite that held their hands high up in surrender, looking scared. The boy lowered his weapon, one hand pressed to his chest as a relieved sigh escaped him. "Don't you ever sneak up on me again," he reprimanded.

"Sorry," they said, fiddling wit their hands. This Subconite was a lot smaller than the others. Sounds younger, too. "Uh, boss told me to remind you that, uh…" they trailed off, seemingly wincing as they pulled a rolled up paper from under their cloak. They showed it to him and he recognized it as his contract. "You signed the paper about not using your hats while in the manor…"

For a moment, he stared, shocked, then snatched the paper from them and took a closer look at the terms. Next to the second term was a small text, barely readable before, but he managed to read it now in the better lighting.

You are not allowed to use your hats during the duration of time spent in the manor.

His eye twitched as rage built up in his chest like steam in a boiler. "That dirty, sneaky little…" he trailed off, his fingers curling the paper in his fists.

"Yeah," the Subconite said. "Don’t use them. Thanks!" With that, they turned and left, leaving the boy alone to fume.

"Weird lady," he muttered, his voice dangerously low, "when I get out of here, I am so going to _kill_ you."

With nothing else he could do, he rolled the contract and put it in his top hat for safekeeping and ventured on. With or without hats, he was going to get the job done. He stopped in front of the double doors and looked at the lock on them. He spent the next five minutes looking around the cellar for the key, which he found on a table next to the room with the barrels. He also found more of that weird yarn, which was good; he needed more of it to finish the mask.

He opened the lock with the key and pushed the doors open, revealing another flight of stairs leading up to a hatch. He put his shoes on halfway up the steps, made his way to the hatch and slightly opened it, peering through the crack: it was a darkened hallway, a window at the far left end showing the snow swirling in the wind and an ice statue of some creature he couldn't boher to identify next to a dresser. There were two doors on the opposite wall, one right in front of him and the other down the hall to the left. No one was in sight, meant they must be upstairs. It would be best if whoever lives here doesn't know about him sneaking around.

He slowly pushed the catch door up as he climbed the steps, resting it against the wall as quietly as possible before taking a second look around. As if the cellar wasn't cold enough, the air inside the manor was even colder. The boy couldn't suppress a shudder as he rubbed his arms for any sort of warmth. He peered down the hallway to his left, and saw the front double doors that were locked. They were also boarded up from the inside as well, meaning this was the work of whoever lived here. He went over to the door next to him and grabbed the cold, metal knob and turned it, slowly pushing the door open and looking inside. There was a grand piano in the middle of the room, a chandelier hanging atop it from the ceiling. There was a small, round table to the close left corner, and a big bookshelf lining the wall next to it. No one was in here either. Slowly closing the door, he tip-toed towards the second door, also seeing a third door to his left.

He wasn't sure if it was his bad luck, a coincidence, or just the universe playing a mean prank on him, but of all the wooden panels making the floor beneath his feet… he stepped on the only one the made a creaking noise. For a moment, he froze, waiting for something, anything to happen. Nothing came to him, though, and he sighed quietly. Whew. For a moment, he thought he-

_**"WHO'S THERE?!!"** _

The boy's heart jumped into his throat as a shrill voice boomed, sudden lightning flashing out the window. He fell back on his rear and scampered back to get on his feet when the voice came again.

_**"WHO DARES COME NEAR MY QUEEN?!!"** _

His face turned pale as he looked around, searching for a place to hide as black mist escaped the crack of the door to the left. He felt an enormous weight pressing down on his chest when the knob rattled. He needed to hide. Now. 

In a state of panic, the boy ran to the door he first opened just as the other door slowly creaked open. He dared look behind him, and his face turned pale at the sight of black, long fingers with long, gnarly fingernails holding the knob. The air got even colder, and he wasn't sure if it was the cold or the sheer terror that made him tremble. He wasn't going to stand there and ponder it, though, so he quickly dove into the room and out of the hallway, closing the door before the monster could spot him. He pressed his back against the door and clapped his hands to his mouth to keep from making noise as he fought to regulate his runaway breath, eyes wide with horror. For a moment, everything was quiet, and he wondered if that… thing was still there or had left. There was only one way to find out, he realized.

As quietly as he could, he opened the door just enough for him to look, and when he looked, he regretted it.

In front of the window down the hallway, the silhouette of a very tall, very skinny man stood. His arms were long and wiry, and his fingers were abnormally long and skinny, as if they were talons. Hair covered up his face, but he could clearly see his blood red eyes glowing, and his crooked teeth shining a contrasting white. He was wearing a crown on the top of his head, and a long cape the dragged on the ground.

The boy closed the door as quietly as his trembling hands would let him. He pressed his back against the door again and held on to the rim of his hat, his lips pursed tightly as he tried to fight back the need to curl up and cry. All the courage he had before, all the confidence he mustered snuffed out like a candle in the middle of a blizzard. He didn't want to be here anymore; he was scared. Really scared.

**_"Are we playing a game now?"_ **

He shuddered as the monster's voice came, followed by a twisted laugh. He shook his head, his eyes brimming with tears he fought so hard to hold back. He didn't want to be here anymore; he wanted to leave this planet and just go home.

Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind's eye; of him a little younger, wiping his eyes with the heels of his palms with a woman, that her face he couldn't see, on her knees and hugging him. _It's okay to get scared, baby,_ she cooed softly. _It really is_.

_No it's not,_ he whined, sniffling softly. _I always finish last and they keep making fun of me for it. I hate being scared, I hate it._ He then started sobbing openly, prompting her to pat his head gently.

_I get scared too, you know?_ She said matter-of-factly. His sobs petered off to sniffles and uneven breaths as he looked up at her. She smiled and held him at arm's length. _I know it may seem hard to believe, but it's the truth,_ she spoke softly. _Getting scared is in our nature._

_B-but you do all these amazing things,_ he argued.

_And I get scared doing it,_ she replied, cupping his cheek in her hand and wiping a tear off it. _If I'm not scared while I'm fighting for my life, I wouldn't be here today._ A look of doubt crossed his face and she continued. _Listen, baby. It's okay to be scared; it's in our nature, it's like mother nature: you can't outrun it, nor can you go around it. But you can get through and find out what you're made of._ She then smiled. _And I_ know _you're not a coward._

Back to present, he quietly breathed out, feeling a lot calmer than before. Mom was right. He wasn't a coward. If she could be brave, he can be brave too.

He took another peek through the door and found the monster roaming the hallway, still. He took another look around the room, spotting another exit on the far side of the bookshelf. Tiptoeing his way to it, he found himself in some sort of dining room\kitchen. A long, rectangular table occupied the center of the room with a big fridge located at the far right corner. There was a sink filled with dirty dishes and cabinets hung high on the walls. He walked over to the fridge and opened it, his eyes widening as he looked at its content. "Cookies!" He whispered excitedly. Indeed, there was a plate filled with chocolate chip cookies on one of the shelves. Something else that caught his attention was the existence of a key next to the cookies. Its handle looked similar to that symbol he saw on the music sheets of a piano. He picked it up and looked up close at it. He held his chin in thought as he examined the key. What does it open?

An idea came to him and he looked over at the grand piano in the other room. "What if…" he trailed off, his mind working. He snuck over to the grand piano and traced is hands over its side panels, finally sensing a keyhole on the side. He put the key inside and turned it, making the piano's bonnet pop open. He looked up at the open piano, then at the door leading to the hallway. If he needed to get to the attic, he needed to cross the hallway, which was impossible with that…thing roaming outside. He needed to create a distraction, like a loud noise. This was most likely a stupid idea and he might get himself killed, but he was running out of options at this point. What else was he to do?

Swallowing a lump of ice forming in his throat, he jumped on the piano's bench, then at the bonnet. It slammed hard against the its frame, the legs giving out and dropping it to the ground in a loud crash with him on top of it. "Ow," he said, sitting up and rubbing his butt cheek.

_**"Ready or not, here I come, heheheh~!"** _

Ice travelled down the boy's sound as he heard the cold, raspy voice of the monster, followed by the hurried footsteps outside the door. He stood up and was about to run into the dining room\kitchen when something caught his eye: a golden key on top of an open book that probably fell from a shelf when he slammed the piano. It looked important for some reason, so he went to grab it. As he did, the door opened, and all of a sudden, the room temperature dropped to freezing degrees all of a sudden. Long, talon-like fingers wrapped themselves around the frame as a pair of blood red eyes, glowing with malice stared down at him. _**"You…"**_ The monster said, his voice dangerously low and his eyes burning with hatred. The boy couldn't stop his body from shaking at the horrendous sight, a shrill siren wailing loudly in his brain. He had to leave. Now.

Moving on instinct alone, he snatched the key from the book, then turned and ran towards the dining area, faintly sensing the monster's talons missing the hem of his cape by millimeters. _**"COME BACK HERE!!"**_ It snarled, throwing the door open and giving chase to the boy. He rounded the corner to the dining area and paused. He looked around, but saw no one; the boy disappeared. _**"Oh? Are we playing a game now?"**_ he said, his voice taking a sinister tone. _**"Fine then… You hide… and I'll seek."**_

In the room across the hallway, the boy stood in front of a set of double doors with a lock keeping them closed. He put the key into the lock and it popped open, the doors swinging open on their own and revealing a set of darkened stairs leading upwards. He took a deep breath and made his way up the stairs, being careful not to make any noise. At the top, he found himself in another hallway, candles on the walls being the only source of light, another set of double doors at the far right corner down the hallway that were closed by another lock. There were claw marks on the walls too, and more ice statues that looked far too similar to the mafia men he met in Mafia Town. He decided not to ponder on it and focus more on getting out of here alive instead.

He tip toed down the hallway, looking at the table tops and dressers for a key that may open the lock. Instead, he found a piece of paper with chicken scratch for handwriting. He took a glance at the stairs he came from to see if he was being chased. Confirming he wasn’t, he read the letter –or tried to, at least.

_It appears that my princess did not appreciate me dying her hair blonde while she was asleep. I only wanted our hair colors to match, no reason for her to be so upset. She looks as beautiful as I am now!_

The boy blinked in bafflement. That sounded like a very mean prank to pull on your princess. He put the paper back and continued down the hallway, purposely ignoring the mafia ice statues; the key was definitely not there.

_**"Are you upstairs? I bet you are… I can hear your footsteps~"** _

A chill ran down the boy's spine as that voice echoed from down the hallway, followed by the wooden floor creaking under heavy footsteps. He quickly ducked around the corner, then peeked down the hallway. Just as he feared, the monster was upstairs, his crooked teeth and glowing eyes sent goosebumps down the boy's arms. He swallowed a lump in his throat and moved away from the corner when the monster started up the hallway. He didn't have time to be scared now; he had to get to the attic and get the peck out of here before that thing caught up to him. He turned and walked down the second hallway, which terminated at a window, a small table with a vase full of frozen roses sat on top of it and a red chest next to it. There was a door to his left that he passed on his way to the chest. He quietly popped it open, and smiled when he found another ball of that strange yarn sitting atop a pile of junk. He picked it up and put it under his cape, leaving the chest open. It was then that he noticed another piece of paper on the table. He looked down the hallway to see if he had a chance to read it, and saw the monster's shadow looming around the corner. He picked up the piece of paper and quickly (but quietly) made his way back to the door he passed. He closed the door the moment the monster reached the corner, the faint red glow of his eyes was visible through the crack at the bottom of the door. He looked around, and his jaw dropped when he realized what room he was in.

There was a large gift box at the left corner of the room, three red balloons tied to it with a crib right beside it. The middle of the room was occupied by a round table with a train set, much like the one he has, on top of it. On the wall across the room was another door, a painting of a featureless man hanging on the wall to its right and a window on the right side wall. Lighting flashed, followed by thunder booming as the snow violently battered against the glass panels. In front of it was a small unicorn, slowly rocking back and forth on its rails… as if a ghost was playing with it…

The hairs at the back of his neck stood at the thought. He would have brushed it aside were it not for the haunting sensation of being watched. Did that monster have a baby too? If he did, the boy did not want to see it. He looked down at the piece of paper in his hand; it was also written on, the handwriting was less messy than the first.

_Today, my princess had left to meet the king of Sands & Sails to solidify our trade and diplomatic relationships. I offered to come with her, but her measly little brother had beat me to it. She will be gone for a whole month, but she promised to write for me weekly. She won't forget, will she? Surely she will remember to write for her Prince Charming, right?_

That… seemed normal. A bit obsessive, maybe, but it was probably normal in this kind of thing. He didn't know, he was just a kid. He dropped the paper and made his way to the other door. He slightly opened it and peeked through the crack: He saw a dimly lit bedroom with a king-size canopy bed with a closet on the left side of the opposite wall. A night stand, a dresser, and a desk occupied the rest of the space to the right with a candelabrum on the former. To the right side wall was another window, a long, rectangular table with a white cloth of fabric laid over it, another candelabrum sitting atop it with ceramic plates and cutlery on both ends. He saw another paper with scribbles on it. Deeming it clear, he walked into the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He walked over to the paper and looked it up in his hand. The handwriting on this one was messier than the last one, but not as messy as the first.

_I don’t understand. In her letters, she keeps talking about the time she spends with her little brother in Sand & Sails and how much fun they are having. I only get letters and HE hogs her all to himself. She is MINE. Once her business there is done, I will have her back._

The boy physically leaned back from the paper. From the bumps and holes he saw, this was written with a lot of force. That monster must've been really angry when this was written. He put it back in place and continued to look around. He found another letter on the desk, this one in completely different handwriting.

_My dear beloved Vincent,-_

"That thing has a name?" The boy muttered, surprisingly.

_-The ministers of Sands & Sails are stubborn, but I believe that I am finally starting to convince them into our conditions. If all things go to plan, I should be back in a month. Eric and I have been given a lot of help by one of the knights in their royal palace with translations and showing us their country. He goes by the name of Sir-_

The rest of the page was scratched and torn, as if a cat was sharpening its claws on it. Eric must've been the Princess' brother's name. He found another letter next to the first and the Mo-… Vincent's handwriting was on it.

_My father died in his sleep last night, so I was crowned king this morning. Now, I cannot be her Prince Charming anymore! Life isn't fair!_

The boy blinked. Was he serious? His father died, and all he cared about was a stupid nickname? How selfish!

_**"I have cookies… Would you like some…?"** _

A shiver ran down the boy's spine when he heard the voice from the other side of the door leading to the hallway. Right. He needed to focus on the main task at hand. With that, he returned to searching the room for a key. He was glad (and disappointed) to find it on top of the canopy… completely out of reach…

He crossed his arms, looking at the key up high. Moments like this one were the rare occasions he hated being short. How was he supposed to get it down now? He held his chin in thought and worked his brain for a solution. Moments later, a metaphorical light bulb flicked on in his brain. "The balloons," he muttered, then turned and made his way back to the baby's room. He fetched one of the red balloons tied to the big gift and carried it back to the bedroom. He lined the balloon perfectly underneath the key, then released the string. The balloon floated upwards towards the ceiling, clipping the key and moving it closer to the top, but not enough to fall. However, another piece of paper fell instead. He picked it up and recognized Vincent's handwriting, it was barely readable and the messiest thing he wrote.

_My princess looks so inviting when she is in chains. The idea of her being locked up in a cellar, completely under my mercy truly excites me. You can't chain a woman, though… Or can you…?_

Ice formed in his stomach as he read the note, his hand slightly shaking in fear… this… thing is crazy. He had to be! Did he really lock her up in chains?! B-but he didn't see anyone in the cellar!

But that smell… Could… could she be-

Before he could finish that terrifying though, sudden whistling came to his ears. He looked around for its source and found it to be the balloon… getting burned by the flame of the candelabrum on the nightstand. "Oh no…" he whimpered as the inevitable happened.

_**POP!** _

He heard King Vincent's hurried footsteps closing in from the hallway and he frantically looked for a place to hide. His eyes landed on the closet, which one of its doors was left open. Not thinking twice, the boy moved as fast as he quietly can and jumped into the closet, pulling the door closed behind him at the same moment the door leading to the hallway opened. The boy slapped one hand to his mouth and grabbed the rim of his hat with the other as the freezing cold returned and chilled him down to the bone. Wailing echoed in his ears as King Vincent looked around the room, the dark mist coming from him seeping into the closet and choking him.

_**"You can hide… but for how long~?"** _The king said, chuckling madly as he made his way back to the hallway. The boy released a breath he had no idea he was holding, his pounding heart slowing down. He slowly crept out when it was safe to do so, and quietly made his way back to the baby's room to fetch another balloon. He paused on his way back when his eyes landed on the faceless painting. The head had hair now. Not only that, but it looked significantly similar to his. It didn't have hair before, he was sure of that…

He really didn’t like to be here. He quickly left back to the bedroom and tried to make the key fall from its place. As if fate was trolling him, the key did not fall, but rocked back and forth, as if teasing the boy. "Are you kidding me?" he muttered angrily. Luckily, the balloon floated away from the candles, meaning he was forced to go back for another balloon. He went back to the baby's room, a scowl on his face. This is stupid, he thought bitterly. They should have definitely-

_**CRASH!!** _

The boy jumped a foot in the air at the loud crash. It came from the bedroom. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he tip-toed over to the door, and snuck a peek at the same time, the door leading to the hallway closed. The key was gone, and the closet toppled over on the ground, another ice statue stuck beneath it. Wait a minute, that wasn't there before. Could it be a Mafia man who was turned to ice? The boy's legs trembled at the mere thought of how that would feel. He decided to push it aside and focus on getting out of here alive. No time to freeze up now (Pun intended :P).

He stepped into the bedroom, which was a lot colder than before. The key was nowhere to be found, which means King Vincent must've taken it with him. He groaned internally, head flopping back. Now, I gotta go find the key, he whined to himself. He perked up when he heard the sound of a shower turning on came from the hallway. He walked over to it, and indeed, steam rolled out of the door down the hall, to the right. Was he taking a shower? Who the peck takes a shower with an intruder going around their place?!

Whatever, at least he had a chance to get the key. He just hoped he didn't have to see the guy naked…

He shivered at the thought before he made his way over to the bathroom, where a wave of steam broke out against him. He could see the shimmering key across the room and the dark, foggy silhouette of King Vincent in the shower. He slowly pushed the door open and quietly tip-toed across, being extra careful not to make any noise. On the mirror to the right, MY PRINCESS IS GONE was written messily in red. He liked to assume it was paint and moved closer.

Once he made it to the key, however, the spray was cut, the steam quickly dissipating. The king reached a claw-like hand over to the towel rack, and their eyes met. Both were frozen in place as they had another staring contest, lighting flashing through the window over the toilet. Then, like a bullet, the king reached for the boy with one gnarly hand. The boy screamed and stumbled back, his talons grabbing the toilet seat, ice quickly spreading around it. The boy quickly got to his feet, key in hand, and ran for the door, the king hot on his tail with an angry snarl. The boy opened the door and looked behind him, only to see the horrid sight of King Vincent chasing him. He screamed again and threw the door closed. The timing was perfect it to slam against his head and sending him falling back on the bathroom floor. The boy quickly ran to the double doors, unlocking them with the key. They revealed another flight of stairs. He quickly made his way up and found himself in a mostly-empty room with a big, round window across the open space, a bit, red chest with golden finish sitting in the middle of it. Seeing there was nothing else of interest, he walked over to the chest and opened it. Inside was a small diary with a music box next to it, both were kept in fancy velvet cushions, a complete paradox to everything else in this manor. This must be what the Snatchress wanted, but what did she want with a diary of all things?

Before he could ponder on it any longer, a shrill cry of unadulterated rage came from downstairs. The boy flinched as he hear hurried footsteps coming from the lower floor. Whatever she wanted those for, he can think about it later. Right now, he needed to get the peck out of here!

He quickly grabbed the items and stored them under his cape, then quickly looked around for a place to hide. Unfortunately, there weren't any. And going back the way he came was obviously not an option, which only left him one way left to do. He turned around to face the big window and grabbed his umbrella, then swung it as hard as he could against the glass. It shattered on impact, snow blowing into the attic. Sudden cold filled the attic, and he looked back to see a pair of red glowing eyes and crooked teeth in an angry grimace. His face turned pale and he quickly ran to the broken window, jumping through and escaping death by centimeters as the king's talons just missed the boy's cape. He opened his umbrella to slow his fall and he dropped into a thick layer of snow powder. He crawled out a moment later and quickly scampered away as the king's shrill screaming followed.

_**"I WILL FIND YOU!! AND WHEN I DO, I WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN, DO YOU HEAR ME?!! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR TAKING MY PRINCESS AWAY FROM ME!!** _ _**"** _

King Vincent didn't have to worry about seeing the boy again, because he was _NEVER_ going back in that manor ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to skip last week's uploads to have the full act in one chapter rather than post it in parts. Thanks for your patience :)


	6. Time Rift - The Tale Of The Subcon Duchess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Time Piece breaks on The Snatchress' head, sending Hat Boy down a journey through her memories.

**Time Rift: The Tale Of The Subcon Duchess**

Being exposed to the biggest scare of his young life, Hat Boy hadn't stopped running until he reached the front door of The Snachtress' cottage. He leaned forward at the waist, one hand on his knee and the other on the bridge's handrail as he sucked big gulps of air into his burning lungs. His legs gave out and he fell down on his butt with an exhausted grunt. "I'm  _ never _ going back there again," he vowed out loud. "Ever."

"Never going where~?"

"AH!!!" The boy cried as he jumped a foot in the air. He quickly turned, his umbrella aimed in the direction the voice came from and lowered it when he realized it was none other than the weird lady herself. She was looking out the open window, her left elbow resting on the windowsill and her hand cupping her chin with her right hand's fingers tapping playfully on the sill. "Oh… it's you," he said nonchalantly, looking unamused.

The Snatchress giggled playfully at his tone and expression. "That's my line," she retorted playfully. She then left the window and opened the door. "So? Did you complete your contractual obligations~?" The boy huffed and pulled the music box and diary he found in the attic.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen," he said as she took them. "Who was that creepy old man anyway?"

"That creepy old man you're talking about is King Vincent," she explained, then walked inside. Hat Boy followed and she continued. "Before he went ice crazy, he used to be the King of Subcon."

"What happened?" He asked. She stopped walking and he bumped into her rear. He rubbed his nose, grunting in annoyance as he took a few steps back to glare at her. Her arms were wrapped around the diary, her shoulders were tense, and a distant gaze filled her eyes. His brows furrowed in confusion. "Uh, hello?" He called, but she didn't respond. His brows pinched in annoyance. "HEY!" He shouted, making her flinch and snap her gaze towards him. She had a certain look in her eye; one that existed for only a second before it turned to unamusement. "You said that scary old man was a king," he said, taking another step back. "What happened that made him go crazy?"

She blinked in surprise, not expecting such question. "Oh," she said, opening the closet. "Well, multiple things happened," she started, putting music box inside and closing it shut. "But when it comes to long-term relationships, I guess he…  _ loses his cool~?"  _ She said, smiling slyly at the boy. He groaned at the pun, rolling his eyes. "Oh, you're no fun," she added, booping his nose, he grunted and rubbed his nose, trying not to smile at the gesture. "However, you  _ did _ fulfill the contract, so here." She reached behind her back and pulled out another Time Piece. A grin broke across the boy's face and he held his hands out for it. She dropped it in them and he quickly stored it under his cape for safekeeping. "Now, run along," she said, waving him off. "I haven't got work for you yet."

"What about the mail delivery?" he asked.

"That can wait until tomorrow," she answered, sitting down on her loveseat with the diaries in hand. "You've earned the rest of the day off, so go play around or something." The boy obeyed and left her to herself with nothing to say. He stood outside of her cottage, across the bridge over the moat and an annoyed look on his face. What was he supposed to do in this place? From what he'd seen of this forest, almost everything tried to kill him here, so there wasn't much fun he could do.

"I bet the view would be beautiful from the top of the tree," A kid's voice spoke from his side. He looked, and found a familiar Subconite looking up at the giant tree behind the wei-uhm,  _ Snatchress's  _ house.

"Hey, you're the one from the cellar," the boy said, pointing at the Subconite. He then squinted at them. "Are you following me?" He asked accusingly. The Subconite fidgeted with his mitten hands nervously before nodding meekly.

"Just a little bit," they admitted. "M-my name is Tizzy… We don't get a lot of visitors here, and you're the first one I've seen." The boy scrunched his lips and crossed his arms. Fair enough, this place didn't look like a lot would come her any-wait a minute…

"You guys have names?" He asked in surprise. Tizzy nodded.

"Some of us who remember their names do. Most don't," they answered. The boy blinked.  _ Huh. That kind of depressing,  _ he thought but didn't say. Tizzy then pointed at the top of the tree and spoke again. "You look bored, why not try and climb the tree? I hear the view is beautiful from the top." The boy looked up, his lips scrunched. The treetop was out of sight, its peak hidden among the clouds. Giant, glowing mushrooms grew on some of the branches, and other flat ones grew on the bark. A long, thick vine with thorns jutting from it coiled around the base of the trunk and, looking close enough, he could see a way to get to the lowest branches. He can find his way up from there.

"Sure," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "How hard can it be?"

Pretty hard, he soon found out as his feet slipped from underneath him and wound up flopping on his belly, slowly sliding down the vine for the umpteenth time. Tizzy snickered under his palms and her shot them a dirty look. "C'mon, try again," Tizzy cheered teasingly. "I'm sure you can do it!"

Oh, he can do it. And he will. Brows knitted in a determined V, the boy hopped up onto his feet and quickly ran up the vine again. He was a few yards away from where the vine reached the lowest branches, and his feet began to slip from underneath him again. Acting quickly, he jumped high up in the air, then dove forward towards the nearest branch. He broke his momentum with an elegant front flip mid-air and landed squarely on top of the branch, which shed a few dead leaves that were carried away by the breeze. He sighed and wiped the sweat off his brow. He then looked up at the mushrooms and branches above him and began to plan his path to the top. It won't be easy, but if what Tizzy said is true, it'd be wor-

wait a minute…

He squinted and took a closer look at a certain object stuck on a branch way up high on the tree. It's a Time Piece!

Climbing this tree was more than just a time killer now. He needed to get that Time Piece.

Correcting his top hat with a nod of commitment, the boy continued his climb.

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

_ October 25 _ _ th _ _. _

_ Dear diary, today, I have taken Eric to his first ever Halloween night for trick-or-treating. He loved the mask I gave him so much he wore it all day since morning. We ate lots of candy tonight, but Eric's stomach ached him and now he is bedridden. _

_ On a different topic, I was also accompanied by Prince Vincent, whom he insisted on walking me along the night, despite me saying it was fine. Such a gentleman he is. He had also learned my fascination of books and invited me to come see the library in the manor. I cannot wait! _

_ That is all, goodnight, my future self. _

A tiny smile touched The Snatchress' lips as she read the entry. Beneath the text was black and white photo of a beautiful young woman with long, wavy hair. She wore a tunic, smiling softly with her hands on the shoulders of a little boy standing in front of her. He wore a fox mask on his face, a small pumpkin bucket filled with candy in each hand. She could tell he was smiling happily through his eyes. Next to the picture was a simple sketch of a man and woman holding hands and looking at each other as they walked, hearts floating around them. Her smile slowly dropped as she scanned the sketch with her eye, then traced it with her fingertips.

She gingerly flipped the page, and found two photos taken from behind. The first was of the woman was sitting on a bench with the mode, who had his arm wrapped around her with his chin resting on top of her head as they read from a big book. The second was of them looking back, eyes wide with surprise, as if they were caught doing something wrong. She smiled again as she remembered who took that photo.

"Those were simpler times," she said softly. Before she could read more, however, she was interrupted by the sound of a distant boyish scream. A groan escaped her throat as she recognized that scream that came from the backside of her cottage.  _ What has he gotten himself into this time?  _ She thought as she teleported in a puff of purple. She was outside now, the giant tree in front of her as she looked left and right, seeing Tizzy standing next to her and looking up. "What in the world is going on in here?" she asked the Subconite. They simply pointed up and, following their gaze, she looked up as well. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw the boy screaming as he flailed his hands, trying desperately to grasp the umbrella that was out of reach. "How did you get up there?!" she called in surprise, catching his attention.

"CAAAATCH MEEEEEEEE!!!" He screamed desperately as he held his arms out for her. Without thinking, she held her hands up in the air, ready to catch him. Fortunately, he did land in her hands. However, he landed too hard, which dropped them both to the ground. Stars filled the boy's eyes and pain shot through his body. A pained groan escaped him as the stars began to dissipate. He pressed his palms against something soft and squishy and pushed himself up on his hands and knees. Once the world had stopped spinning, he saw that what he landed on was  _ not _ a giant mushroom. It was, in fact, The Snatchress; his small hands pressed her ample breasts against her chest, his fingertips slightly dipping into her flesh. His face burned a deep shade of red as the soft, squishy sensation of her, uh,  _ pack _ finally registered in his brain.

"Talk about getting a feel of things," Tizzy said to the fourth wall, an invisible grin on their face. It was short-lived, though, as the boy's umbrella fell down directly on their head, making them fall to the ground, unconscious. The boy quickly pulled his hands away, jumping off the older woman as he stared as his shaky hands. He… h-he actually touche her-

A groan escaping The Snatchress cut that thought short as she slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position with one hand and rubbing her head with the other. The blush disappeared from his face, replaced by cold sweat as he realized what was about to happen.

She opened her eye and looked down at him angrily. "Start explaining," she said tightly.

"T-there was a Time Piece on one of the branc-"

"And you thought you could just climb up and get it by yourself?" she interrupted. The boy lowered his head and wrung his hands nervously. "You realize you would be dead right now if I didn't come out in time, right?"

"Sorry…" he muttered. The Snatchress' angry expression softened at the tone of his voice. She opened her mouth to say something before a sudden ringing sound came within earshot. They both looked up, just in time to see the mentioned Time Piece dropping from the sky. "Oh, no," was the last thing the boy said before the Time Piece smashed against the top of The Snatchress' head. Blinding light engulfed the two, and the boy shielded his eyes with his hands.  _ This will not end well,  _ was the last thing he thought of before everything turned white.

**.oO** **0Oo.**

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the boy found himself standing on a part of a wooden porch, surrounded by complete utter darkness with the only source of light being a small lantern sitting on a small table next to a wooden door, a steaming cup of tea, a stack of ripped envelopes and a leather-bound hardback next to it with a welcome mat on the floor in front of the door. He stepped closer to the edge and looked down; there was nothing but pitch black.

His shoulders slumped as the realization of where he was set in. "Time Rift," he sighed. Time Rifts were outcomes of a Time Piece broken by accident and left unattended. Most of them were what is called Blue Time Rifts: they form a small portal to a small dimension where he'd have to find his way around a maze of platforms to get to the Time Piece inside. Those were simple enough, and some were easier than others. However, when they hit someone's head is where things get complicated. They become what is called Purple Time Rifts: they're somewhat similar to Blue Time Rifts, but instead built around the memories and dreams of who they hit. He didn't like them, as he felt the discomfort of looking into other people's secrets. And since that Time Piece hit The Snatchress on her head…

He  _ really _ didn't want to do this… but he had no choice, as he was already in it.

Fixing his hat, he turned back to the door and twisted the knob. It was locked. "Seriously?" he grumbled. "Right. Where's the key then?" He looked over the table, under the hardback and even under the table itself, but the was nowhere to be found. He scratched the back of his head in confusion as he looked around the tiny space. Where was it? It can't be that hard to find a key in a single meter of space. He then slowly bowed his head and looked down at the welcome mat, eyes half-lidded in unamusement. He kicked it off to the side, and was not surprised to find a golden key laying on the ground beneath it. "Of course it's under the mat," he said as he picked up the key, then inserted it into the lock and twisted with a  _ click. _

Turning the doorknob, he pushed the door open, and warm sunlight kissed his skin, filling his body with such warmth his eyes fluttered, as if in a pleasant dream. He stood in place for a moment, basking in the warm sunlight before he opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing across the room from a big desk in front of a window where golden light spilled from. Someone sat behind the desk, a quill in their hand as they scribbled away on a piece of paper. He blinked a few times so his eyes could adjust to the light and see better. A woman with brown, wavy hair sat behind the desk, the rays of sunshine coming from the window hitting her in angle that made her hair look like it shined with an ethereal glow. She had light brown eyes, almost golden, and soft, milky skin. She wore a red tunic that hugged her lithe frame with a yellow cravat around her neck. The boy's mouth dropped in surprise at the sight he saw. Was that… was she-

"Lucia!" a childish voice piped from behind and cutting that thought short from forming in his head. The woman stopped her scribbling and looked up at the door with a smile. The boy looked back and, instead of the black void he came from, he saw that he door was closed, only to be opened by a child wearing an orange fox mask on his face. He had brown hair and teal eyes. The child ran through the boy, as if he was just a hologram, and stopped in front of the woman, bouncing excitedly. "Look what I found under my bed!" he said excitedly, in a voice very similar to Hat Boy's.

The woman smiled at the masked child's excitement. "Wow," she said in a  _ very  _ familiar voice. "It looks so cool! I wonder how it got there," she added, holding her chin in mock thought. The child giggled.

"I know it's you, sis," he said, rolling his eyes, to which the woman named Lucia giggled.

"Okay fine, you got me," she admitted, raising her hands as if she was caught doing something bad. The child then ran around the desk and threw himself at her in a big sidehug.

"Thank you, I love it," he said. She simply ran her hand over his brown hair.

"You're gonna wear it all day, aren't you, Eric?" she asked. He nodded in response. "Of course you are."

A few feet away from them, Hat Boy stood there, a small smile on his face. This is very similar to his relationship with his mother. And whatever doubts he had on who that woman was were gone now; she is The Snatchress. Or Lucia. Part of him didn't want to know what happened for her to become who she was when he first saw her. Another part, however, the louder part, wanted to find out. He was a little scared to learn her story, but curious at the same time. And just like the saying from home goes:  _ Curiosity killed the cat.  _ Whether he wanted to or not, he was still stuck inside of the Time Rift until it's sealed. Something told him it was not going to be easy, though…

A sudden chime came to his ears, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at the grandfather clock to his right. It was eight O'clock. "Come on now," Lucia spoke, drawing back his attention. She put the quill down on the desk and stood up, then stretched her arms over her head, multiple pops coming from her spine. She sighed in relief and offered her hand to her little brother. "Time to get you to school now."

"Awe, but it's Halloween night tonight!" he whined, taking her hand.

"That's no excuse to miss your study," She said, walking through Hat Boy with Eric by her side. "Let's go now, before you're late." And with that, they left, leaving the boy alone in the middle of the room. A tiny smile formed on his face. Lucia, huh? That was a pretty name, he couldn't lie. And she seemed to be really nice, which explained a lot. More importantly, she had a  _ little brother?!  _ He was bamboozled! Jokes aside, though, they seemed to look a lot similar; the brown hair, the voice, even the posture was similar. If Lucia became Snatchress, what did happen to her little brother? He looked down at his bandaged hands, eyebrows pinched in thought; did she see her brother in him? That would explain why she healed his hands, as she didn't seem to be the type of person to do such thing to her contractors.

He had questions, and those will be answered as he progressed through the rift. With that in mind, he opened the door he came from, and instead of the black void, he was met with a long, dimly lit hallway flanked by doors on both sides. He stepped into the hallway, the door drifting to a close behind him and blocking the warm sunlight. He looked from one door to the other as he walked across. He stopped at one in particular that was halfway across hallway. Unlike the rest of the doors that were exact replicas, this one stood out; there was a fake spider plush that looked similar to the giant spiders that drop in front of him hanging from the doorknob by a piece of string, a spider web pinned by nails on the upper right corner of the doorframe. Time Rifts aren’t usually this obvious, but eh, he wasn't about to complain. With a shrug of his shoulders, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted, the door pushing open.

He found himself outside of a small house at nighttime. Streetlamps illuminated the narrow dirt streets between the houses and strange decorations hung from streamers. Kids in costumes and masks happily walked back and forth from house to house, pumpkin buckets filled with candy held in their hands. The boy simple stood there for a second, admiring the liveliness of the area at this time of the night. This must be Halloween. He didn't know much about it, it's supposed to be a spooky holiday for kids to wear costumes and 'trick or treat', as Mrs. Gabby told him. At first, he thought it was weird for kids to have to wear costumes and ask for candy one night of the year but, now that he saw it… It actually looks pretty fun!

"I did not know a kid his size could eat so much candy in an hour."

The boy froze, his eyes growing twice their size as he recognized that deep voice coming from behind him. A feminine giggle came after, and he slowly, reluctantly, turned his head back to see who it was.

It was King Vincent, only different from the one he knew; this Vincent looked younger, less monstrous. His hair was blonde and it was neatly combed back, his aquamarine tunic was clean and tidy, and his crown was missing. His skin was smooth and clear and his hands were gloves and normal, unlike the talons he had when he first saw him. Despite the change in appearance, panic still clutched the boy's heart as he approached him, and he took a few steps back before tripping on a jutting stone and falling on his fanny. "No, no, no…" he muttered meekly as he shielded his face with his hands from the blow that was to come.

But it never came. He slightly creaked one eye open, and saw King Vincent walking right past him, as if he was invisible. He then realized that of course, he was invisible to those who existed within a Time Rift. It was then that he noticed Lucia walking by his side. "Eric does have  _ quite _ the sweet tooth," she replied. "Mainly chocolate-chip cookies. He loses his mind when he sees those."

"Much like myself," Vincent replied. "I can never say no to sweets." 

For a moment, they were quiet. It started to get awkward when Lucia cleared her throat to break the silence. "So, uh, do you like to read?"

"Not much," he replied, "I'm not much of a reader, honestly. I like to spend my time outside, catching fresh air then spending all day reading cliché romance."

"Is that so?" she replied. The boy could tell from her tone that she was trying to hide her displease under her polite smile.

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "I don't understand those bookworms. Like, where's the fun in sitting all day and doing nothing?" He shook his head and looked at her. "What about you? What do you like to do for fun?"

"Well," she started, wringing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm one of those bookworms you've mentioned."

Vincent's smile fell. "Oh…" He said. "Uh… my apologies. I-I did not mean to offend you, m'lady."

"Oh, it's alright," she allowed with a shrug of her shoulders and walked ahead. "Most people don't take me for a bookworm anyway. As if being smart is a sin." She then threw him a sly smile over her shoulder. "You should learn to judge on appearances less, your majesty~"

He chuckled and nodded in acceptance. "I suppose you're right," he agreed and caught up to her. "Even so, allow me to compensate my audacity."

"And how will you do that?" she asked. He smiled and held her hand in his. She looked down in surprise, then up at him a pink hue colored her cheeks.

"Come to my manor tomorrow," he said. "it would be my pleasure to show you to the royal library myself."

Lucia gaped for a moment, not really sure what to say. She then bowed her head and failed to stifle a girlish giggle. Regaining her composure, she stood straight. "I accept your invitation, Prince Vincent of Subcon," she agreed. He smiled brightly, then raised her hand to his lips and planted a soft, tender kiss on her knuckles. Her blush deepened and she bit her lip, her head bowing to hide her bashful grin.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked. She nodded, still unable to make eye contact. "If I have time," she replied coyly.

He smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting it slip out of his hold. He then turned and walked away. Lucia held her hand, watching him go with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Such a gentleman," she said to herself. When he was gone, she blinked, and it was then that she realized she was standing in front of her house. A quiet chuckled escaped her lips. "Guess I have a date now," she spoke again before opening the door and quietly closing it behind her.

Suddenly, silence came over the whole street. The boy looked around and, indeed, the street was empty all of a sudden. He looked back at the door Lucia walked through and pursed his lips. So, King Vincent wasn't a monster from the start; he was a swell guy at some point, as hard to believe that was. And they clicked in nicely! What happened for him to become such nightmare fuel?! Oh, he  _ really _ wanted to find out now.

He grabbed the doorknob and twisted, but the door was lock. "Ugh, come on, now," he grumbled. He then quickly looked down at his feet, at the doormat, to be precise. He kicked it aside and was disappointed when he saw it had no key hidden underneath it. He took a quick look around, seeking for oddities, and noticed a single potted flower sitting beside the mailbox on the edge of the dirt path. He quickly headed over and picked up the pot, grinning as he saw the key beneath it. He went back to the door with the key in hand, unlocked it, and walked through.

He found himself in the middle of a big hall with marble floors, colored windows, and colorful banners hanging from the walls. An old man with graying hair and beard sat on a throne across the hall, a golden crown sat atop his head and red, fancy robes was draped on his back. Lucia stood in front of him with Eric next to her. They both looked a little older than the last memory, which means this was years later.

The king stroked his beard in thought as he stared down at the woman and her brother. "Are you certain you can handle it, Lady Lucia?" he asked in a gruff voice. "These negotiations could last for months. And our entire trade relationship with Sand And Sails relies on them."

"I do, your highness," Lucia replied. "I know their business laws by heart. If there's anyone who can make the negotiations work, it is me."

"Even so… I still do not feel comfortable enough to send a single woman to do all of the negotiations on her own. No offense," he replied.

"None taken, your highness," she replied, even though she seemed  _ very _ offended.

"I will feel more comfort in sending someone along to escort you through these negotiations." He then scratched his temple in thought. "I wonder who would volunteer for such task…"

It was then that Hat Boy had noticed Prince Vincent standing beside the king. He was raising his hand to offer his help when Eric suddenly piped. "I'll go!" he said, holding his hand up. "Lucia be very difficult sometimes, and I know how to deal with her!"

"Eric," she jammed in through gritted teeth. "Keep quiet, you're embarrassing me."

"Are you sure you can do this, young man?" The king asked, leaning forward. "This is not a holiday, and you will have to do all of Lady Lucia's bidding without complaints or delay."

Eric bobbed his head up and down excitedly. "Yessir!"

The king couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "Very well then. You may go with your sister." Eric quietly pumped his fist in excitement as Lucia simply rolled her eyes, smiling as well. "It's best that you return home and prepare, for you will have very long negotiations to make. May luck be on your side," the king added, waving his hand as permission to be dismissed. Eric gave the king a bow, then turned and headed for the exit with a skip in his walk. Lucia bowed her head for the king, and waved at Vincent before turning around and following her brother. He smiled and waved back. The moment she turned her back at him, however, He threw a dirty,  _ dirty _ look at Eric as he walked right through Hat Boy, followed by Lucia. For some reason he didn't know, the boy had a feeling that this is where stuff started to go bad.

The King and Vincent both faded, as if they were mirages, and the boy took it as his cue to Leave. He found another door on the side of the hall, this one lead him to a small room with nothing more than a desk, a bed, and a wall closet. The window viewed on a vast sand desert and the sun was high up in the sky. Lucia sat on the bed, her hands covering her face from the world as choked sobs shook her frame. The misery in her voice pulled on his heartstrings and his hands itched to be wrapped around her and give her comfort. He couldn't, though, and it hurt him more to see her. What could have happened for her to weep like this? He looked around the room any clues, and found a yellow piece of paper sitting solely on the desk. He moved closer to it and was pleased to know it was facing up.  _ Good, _ he thought.

It was a telegram (he had no idea what that was, but it seemed important). It carried the unfortunate passing of King Vincent I after slipping on ice and falling down the stairs, resulting in his neck breaking from the fall.

Suddenly, a memory came back to him. Hours ago… in the manor…

_ My father died in his sleep last night, so I was crowned king this morning. _

His eyes widened as realization sunk in. The king slipped on ice and died from the fall. It wasn't an accident, Vincent killed his own dad for the crown! He got his own father killed so he can be king! It was so much to process for the boy's brain that he leaned on the desk for support to keep himself from collapsing to his knees. He pressed his other hand against his forehead as the color left his face.  _ What kind of person would do such thing?  _ He thought.  _ To their own parent, nonetheless! _

He was snapped out of his thoughts when a knock came to the door. Lucia went silent and the door creaked open. Eric poked his head in, a look of concern on his face. "Hey," he said quietly as he stepped in. "You okay, sis?"

"I'm fine," she replied, wiping the tears off her face. "Just… dust in my eyes." Eric gave her an unamused look.

"Sis, I'm twelve," he started as he walked over and sat next to her. "Plus, I already heard about the king."

Lucia gave him a quizzical look. "How?"

"News travel fast around her e," he answered flatly, looking straight ahead. "I feel bad for Vincent… It must be really hard for him…" he said sadly. Lucia joined him, sniffling as she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms.

"I should be back home with him," she said. "I should be there for him. He needs me…"

"I understand that," he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "But we can't just go and leave our work behind." She sighed, and he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I know you love him, sis, and while it can be a little gross to watch you both be lovey-dovey all the time-"

"Hey," she jammed in.

"-It only means you two really love each other," he continued. "But this is important, especially now. The king isn't here anymore, and Vincent isn't ready to take full control. We  _ have _ to make these negotiations work."

For a moment, Lucia seemed to ponder what Eric had said, then she sighed. "You're right," she said, smiling as she draped one arm on his shoulders and pulled him closer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. She hugged him tighter. "Thank you, Eric. I feel much better now."

"I promised to take care of you, didn't I?" he replied, breaking away from her. "It's the least I can do." She chuckled and ruffled his hair, much to his displease.

"Since when did you become so mature~?" she asked teasingly.

"Since I became your babysitter," he shot back, pushing her hand away.

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" she asked, cocking her head back sassily. A playful smirk crossed her lips afterwards. "Alright then, you asked for it~"

Before he knew it, Lucia pounced at him, her fingers digging into his sides. Eric screamed laughter, squirming on his side in an attempt to escape her tickle tackle. "STAHAHAHAHAP!!" He cried, tears in his eyes. "I'M GONNA PEEHEHEHEHE!!"

"Say uncle!" She said, giggling herself.

"UNCLE! UNCLE!"

Lucia stopped her assault, then leaned closer and pecked his cheek. "And don't forget who wears the pants in this family~" she said, teasingly flicking is nose as she stood and stretched, sighing when her spine popped. "Okay, I'm ready to get back to work," she said. She looked back at Eric, whom was still lying down on his back, fighting to catch his breath. "Oh, come on," she said, rolling her eyes then poked his side. He flinched and jumped to a sitting position, hands tightly wrapped around his waist. "I said I'm ready to get back to work. Let's go."

With that, they both left the room, Hat Boy staying behind. That scene reminded him of how Mom would comfort him whenever she saw him sad or upset and he couldn't help a smile as some memories returned. Those would have to wait, however, as he still had to seal this rift.

With a determined nod, he walked over to the door and turned the knob.

Locked.

"OH, FOR PECK'S SAKE!!" He yelled in frustration. He then turned and looked for the hidden key, fuming as he went. "Stupid key," he grumbled angrily. "Stupid lock. Stupid door. Stupid Time Rift."

Eventually, he found the key under the pillow and used it to unlock the door. The next location he found himself in was some store lit by lanterns hanging from the ceiling above his head. The walls were lined with different costumes of different sizes, and the shelves were stacked with various types of accessories (tiaras, pumpkin buckets with different designs, masks, etc.) A bell's ringing came to his ears, and he looked at the front door. He looked over, and he had to do a double take to recognize who the person walking in was.

It was Lucia, but she wore a long, brown mantle with a hoodie. She pulled it off, letting her hair spill and scanned the shelved as she walked, looking uninterested in what was on display. "Looking for something, my dear?" She jumped when an older woman spoke from behind her. She has graying hair and wrinkled cheeks, not to mention a doting smile. Lucia cleared her throat and straightened her back.

"Yes," she answered curtly. "A mask. Something special, if you please."

"For someone special, perhaps~?" the old woman asked. A pink hue tainted Lucia's cheek and she nodded, smiling shyly. "Awww~ I have just the thing for you, my dear. Wait here."

She then turned and walked behind the counter beside the store's front door. She bent down with a grunt and began to rummage through stuff. Lucia walked to the business end of the counter, curiously trying to sneak a peek. "Ah, there it is!" the woman piped, making Lucia pull her head back. The woman came back up with a mask sitting on a pillow. It was grayish blue with two horns, one longer than the other. Its eyes were made of tinted glass, the left one had a red spiral painted on it, a single red line stretching from it to the rim of the mask. The right eye had diamonds of the same color, two red lines reaching the opposite rim of the mask, a big, open-mouthed smile occupying the lower half of it, revealing two sharp fangs.

"Wow…" Lucia said in awe. She picked up the mask and looked it up closely.

"The mask was made by a puppeteer, hundreds of years ago," the old woman said. "He was in love with the princess at the time, and would always sneak up to her balcony every night to entertain her with his puppets. One night, however, a blizzard came upon that kingdom, and the princess could not have her puppeteer visit her like every night. The night following the blizzard, the puppeteer still hadn't come, or the night after, or the night after. The princess has gotten more worried, and asked the guards to search for the puppeteer. They've searched far and high in the kingdom, but to no avail. When the blizzard's snow began to thaw, the princess looked out her window, hoping he would be there this time. She only found his frozen body, laying on top of the melting snow, his legs completely gone. The princess had mourned his death for days. And one night, she had dreamed of him. In that dream, he said:  _ 'If you ever feel alone, look up at the moon. I will always be there for you.'  _ When she woke up, the puppeteer's mask was in her gasp, and she held on to it until she passed it to her daughter. And she, to her daughter, until it reached me." Lucia traced her thumb across the mask's side. "The princess named the mask  _ The Moonjumper, _ in memory of the puppeteer who lives in the moon's horizon," the old woman added. Lucia smiled softly and looked up at the woman.

"That's a lovely story," she said. "How much do I owe you?"

"Keep it, dear," she responded. "I can tell you'd give it to someone you genuinely love, and I would not put a price on something made with love."

"No, I can't," Lucia refused. She was about to put it back on the velvet cushion, but the woman held her hands.

"I insist, my dear," she said. They stared each other down, none of them yielding to the other. A minute later, Lucia sighed, head bowing in defeat. "Alright, fine, I'll take it," she allowed, to which the older woman smiled. The doorbell rang again, Eric poking his head in.

"Hey sis, the train to Subcon is about to leave, we gotta go," he said, then left. Lucia took the mask, hid it under her cape and nodded her thanks to the old lady, then left herself. Then it was all quiet, which marked the end of the memory. For some reason, the mask seemed familiar to him, as if he had seen it before. But where?

He decided to shrug his shoulders and ponder the matter later. He walked to the front door and turned the knob, pleased to know it wasn't locked.

Where he found himself next did  _ not _ make him pleased, though.

He was back in King Vincent's manor, in the middle of the bottom floor's hallway. The wallpaper was intact, no claw marks present. The ice statues that decorated it were gone. He could see the sun, although it was setting. Even so, the memories of the terror living in this place came back to him, nearly sending him into a panic attack. He held himself together, though.  _ It's just a Time Rift,  _ he reminded himself.  _ He can't hurt me in here. _

The front doors opened and Lucia walked in, a bouquet of roses in her hands and a bright smile on her face. Eric was beside her, smiling as well. "Man, it's so good to be home at last," he said.

"It really is," Lucia agreed as they stopped in front of the door leading to the library. "Eric, why don't you help yourself to a cookie from the kitchen? Me and Vincent need to talk privately for a minute."

For a moment, Eric gave her a confused look, then, he understood. He nodded and walked down the hallway, disappearing behind the door leading to the kitchen. She smiled and held the bouquet to her chest with one hand, and opened the door with the other.

Vincent stared out the window at the houses down the road from the manor, his back turned. The king's crown sat atop his head and the room was slightly colder than the hallway, sending goosebumps up Hat Boy's arms. "Prince Charming?" Lucia called, "Or should I say  _ King  _ Charming~?" Vincent responded to neither. "Vincent?" she asked worriedly as she approached. "It's me."

"I've heard you the first time, Lucia," He said snapped coldly, causing her to flinch. He turned around and what she saw made her gasp; dark circles rimmed his eyes, bags hanging underneath them. His eyes were wide open, a certain look of craze in them. His hair was unkempt, messy, and stubble covered his jaw. "You took here months more than you said you would," he started, stalking over to her. "You and that  _ little brother _ of yours," he said, a disgusted sneer on his face as he referred to Eric, "out in a different kingdom, having the days of your lives, while the kingdom was in struggle without its queen."

"I was negotiating," she said, her brows pinching in anger. "I was out there, making sure the trade business between out kingdoms was in our fav-"

Before she could finish, Vincent shot his hands out and wrapped them around her throat, she yelped in fear as he then slammed her back against the door.  _ "FOR SIX MONTHS!"  _ He yelled. "FOR SIX MONTHS, YOU WERE  _ TALKING!!  _ MEANWHILE, I WAS GIVEN THE BURDEN TO RULE ALONE!! UNPREPARED!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW GRUELING THESE LAST MONTHS HAVE BEEN ON ME?!!" He asked. Lucia was petrified, her hands holding his wrists as she shook like a leaf under his wrath.

"Sis?" Eric's voice came from the doorway connecting the library to the kitchen. He was standing there, a half-eaten cookie in his hand as he stared in shock. "W-what's going on…?"

The crazed look in Vincent's eyes grew tenfold at the sight of the boy, and Hat Boy's heart throbbed in his chest. That was the same look he gave him when they first saw each other. "You…" he growled. "GUARDS!! SEIZE HIM!!" He commanded, pointing at Eric.

Knights in armor came from the kitchen, two of them grabbing the boy's arms. He cried out and tried to break free. "Eric!" Lucia cried, pushing Vincent's handed away running to her brother's aid, only to be stopped by two others. "Vincent, what the hell has gotten to you?!" she asked. "Let us go!"

Vincent simply ignored her as he grabbed Eric by the front of his tunic. "You like to mess around with my queen, don’t you?" he asked. "I will make an example out of you…"

What came out of his mouth next made Hat Boy's blood freeze in his veins. He never knew it was possible for people to be this cruel, this heartless, this… there weren't words in his vocabulary for him to articulate how he felt at the sound of such terrible judgment being put on a little boy.

"Take him to the gallows!"

The color left Eric's face as the words were uttered. The guards began to pull him away, and he fought to break free of their grip as if his life depended on it, which it was. "No, please!" he begged, his eyes brimming with tears. "Lucia, please don't let them take me!"

She tried. Heavens know she tried to save him, but the guards held her back, leaving her powerless as she watched them take her brother, the only family she had left in this big, cruel world, be taken away form, never to be seen again. "Vincent, please!" she begged, her tears pouring down her cheeks. "Don't take my brother away from me! He's the only family I have left… I'll do anything you want…"

She was openly crying now, her makeup running down her cheeks as she desperately begged for her brother's life. But Vincent's true colors came to light. His cold, icy heart feeling no mercy. "Take this whore to the cellar," he ordered, his voice even, cold, lifeless. "Maybe she'll learn not to screw with other men after a few days down there." 

This time, Lucia did not struggle as the guards dragged her across the hallway and down the stairs to the dark cellar, the bouquet of flowers dropping in the middle of the hallway. Nor when they pinned her against the wall and shackled her wrists. Whatever energy she had was completely spent. All she could do no was weep and mourn the loss of the last of her family. And all Hat Boy could was sit and watch her suffering, unable to do anything to ease her pain. The guards turned and left once they were done, closing the doors behind them and leaving her alone to grief. Soon enough, it was too painful the boy to hear her weeps of agony. He covered his ears with his hands to block her voice and covered his eyes shut so he can't see her misery. He didn't want to watch anymore. He wanted to get out of here.

Eyes closed and ears covered, the boy turned and ran through the double doors, running away from the horrendous tragedy he'd just witnessed. By doing so, he found himself in the hallway again, looking very similar to the one he'd been through when he snuck in. Lucia's bouquet of roses sat in the middle of the hallway, right where she dropped them. A layer of snow covered the top of them, the roses looking dead and withered. A raging blizzard pelted snow at the window on the other end of the hallway, as well as the freezing temperature inside. This was a lot more similar to when he snuck in. He noticed the hatch to the cellar was open and walked over to it. Peering down, the cellar was dark, the only source of light was a purple orb floating in the air, a vortex swirling in the middle of it.

The rift's center! He made it!

He quickly made his way down to the cellar, but froze when he caught sight of who else was there.

Lucia.

Only, she looked worse; her skin was pale blue now, the skin on her wrists was peeling off, revealing purple flesh beneath. A layer of ice covered her feet, which were dipped in the murky water flooding the floor. Her head was lolled to the side, her body completely numb. The moonlight came down the window from above and shone down on her, casting a shadow on the ground that resembled nothing like her, but of a certain weird lady.

He stood there, looking at her with sympathy. She'd been through so much, and even so, death was not the end for her. Poor thing. He wasn't sure if it was his lack of soul, or a surprisingly good self-control, but the fact he wasn't on his knees, crying his eyes out surprised him.

With nothing else to add, the boy turned and faced the purple orb, brandishing his trusted umbrella. He swung it hard at the orb, causing a crack to appear on it, light seeping out. He whacked it again, making the crack bigger. The orb began to shake now. With one final swing, the orb exploded, blinding light spilling out and forcing the boy to cover his eyes.

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

When his sight returned, the boy opened his eyes and found himself back in Subcon Forest, next to the giant tree he tried to scale earlier. The Time Piece that broke on top of the L-... The Snatchress' head was now in his hands, completely mended. She was down on the ground, groaning as she wavered to a sitting position, one hand massaging her temple. "Ow, my head," she grumbled, then opened her eye and looked around. "What happened?"

He didn't want to tell her about the Time Rift she caused, which lead him to knowing her full story. "Uh, I fell on top of you after I tried to climb the tree," he lied. "I'm sorry…" He expected her to be mad, but instead, she just groaned and slowly rose to her feet, stalking over to her cottage without saying a word.

In her cottage, she stretched down on her loveseat, her hand still massaging her temple.  _ What kind of flashback was that? _ She thought of the sudden trip to Memory Lane she just had. She looked over at the diaries resting on the small table next to her for a moment, then sighed and snapped her fingers, the diary floating on their own and stowing itself in her closet, the door closing afterwards. "Hopefully a nap gets rid of this headache," she said to herself as she closed her eye.

In minutes, she fell asleep, not a single memory popping up in her dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever. I happened to get sick and injure one of my hands, which caused all this delay. I'm back on my regular schedule now, though.


	7. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small chapter among acts to explain some things and give our favorite dark duchess more character development. Enjoy :)

**Interlude**

The Snatchress did not need sleep. She might look like a human, but she did not get hungry, tired, or aroused like a normal human being does. Her human looks was only a façade to hide something much, much,  _ much _ scarier. She hid it because she cared about appearances; had she roamed around in her true form all the time, most of those poor souls who tread into her forest would die the moment they saw her. Where's the fun in that? No, she liked to be up close and personal as she took the souls of her victims and watch the life drain out of their eyes. The fear, the despair, the horror in their eyes. Oh, it gave her chills every single time~

Today, however, she had experienced the weirdest series of emotions she had in centuries, mainly because of her newest contractor. Whenever she looked at him –like,  _ really _ look at him– she saw a blink. A flash of something she once had, but lost; something she cherished but was taken away from her. She never pondered the matter for so long she began to forget. But then, enter this young boy wearing a top hat, wandering around her forest, alone. How he got here, where did he come from, she didn't know, nor did she care enough to ask. To her, he was just another fool to do her bidding. Once she was finished with him, his soul was free real estate.

That was the plan at first. Now, however, as the day ended, for the first time in forever, she was confused. Not in a head-scratching way but in an emotional way. Part of her wanted to keep having him to her grunt work, but another wanted her to let him go. Both were equally loud, each one pulling her in the opposite direction of the other, and the mental tug-of-war left her mind torn and strained.

She didn't know what to do; didn't know which part she wanted to listen to. In one hand, he was just another soul for her to take. In the other, however… she didn't want to. It was the same way when he hurt his hands while cleaning the well. Were it anyone else, she wouldn't have batted an eye to their injury. When she saw his hands, though, it was like a switch that flicked on inside of her. Tending to his wounds wasn't something she thought of, she did it as if she was programmed to. But why? Why would she want to care for that little boy? He was just another contractor.

The Snatchress lied down on her loveseat, her fingers interlaced behind her head and her eyes staring at a tiny moth flying around one of the lanterns illuminating the room. After her short nap –she didn't need sleep, but liked to take short naps from time to time just for the heck of it– her headache was gone, but the flashback she had still lingered. She tried to distract herself with a good book, but she couldn't concentrate long to read more than two pages. She then wandered around her forest for an hour, hoping to catch some fool walking around aimlessly, but no such luck. Eventually, she returned to her house and sat there. It goes without saying that she didn't like the past, nor thinking about it. When you live as long as she did, the past becomes irrelevant. All she could do was live her life one day at a time and look forward to the future. Which didn't seem like a bad thing, but when you're three-hundred and seventy years old, things become a little more different. A little more complicated.

Here's the thing: not aging anymore changes the perspective on many things. Say for example the weekends: you work\study hard all week, and by the time the weekends comes around, you feel like you aged a few years. To her, weekends feel like only hours apart. It was funny, now that she thought about it; When she was alive and young, she worried herself sick sometimes that she would grow old and alone. You see, back when Subcon was a nice place to live, she was a smart girl.  _ Very _ smart, if she could say so herself. She was the daughter of a highly-educated man, who just happened to be the duke of a small village in Subcon Forest. She was a bookworm, as kids these days would say; most girls her age would want a new dress or new shoes, all she wanted was more books. It didn't take long for her father to get her into law books and, a few years later, she knew the entirety of Subcon's law system by heart.

Now that she was dwelling on it, she failed to remember anything about her father beyond the fact that she had one at some point. Heck, she couldn't even remember mother if she tried. The only person she has clear memories of was… Eric…

A sad frown crossed her lips at the thought of that name. She pulled one hand from under her head and snapped her fingers, the diaries spawning in her hand in a puff of purple. She opened it and flipped through the pages until she found a picture of her past self with her little brother standing next to her. He wore a tunic, a cravat with his hair neatly combed back. He was smiling uncomfortably, his hands hidden behind him. She traced his features with her fingertip, his big, rough eyes, his broad, boyish smile, his short stature. He didn't want to wear that tunic the day the picture was taken.  _ It's so itchy! _ He'd said. He was quite the stubborn little boy. But promise him something he wants, and he'll do your bidding without complaints.

Much like the boy with his Time Pieces.

A wistful smile crossed her lips at the thought. "They do act similar to each other," she muttered to herself, slapping the book shut and hugging it to her chest. The smile slowly left her face, the corners of her mouth drooping down in a sad frown. "They would've been friends if he was here…"

**_KA-POW!_ **

The sound of thunder booming loudly across the air snapped the ruler out of her thoughts. She looked at the window on the opposite wall, then sat up when tiny raindrops began to stain the glass. She stood up, the book still in her hold, and walked over to the window, looking up at the treetops: she could see the lightning flashing in the dark clouds high up as more rain began to shower the vegetation.

She pursed her lips as she watched the rain for a minute. Rains should start coming a month from now. Then again, if there was one thing she couldn't control, it was the weather. She looked down at her diaries, then made them disappear with a snap of her fingers. She went over to her bookshelf and ran her finger across the spines of books lining the shelves before settling on a dark green hardback. She pulled it out, then got herself comfortable on her loveseat. Maybe a quick read will help clear her mind this time? And since it was raining, the minions will have to stay at their homes until it stopped, which means no interruptions!

She swung the cover open and took a whiff of its aroma, then let it out in a blissful sigh. Ahhh… the smell of a good book. Oh, she  _ loved _ it~

Before she could read a single word, however, the door to her cottage opened. The boy walked in, his clothes completely soaked and dripping on the wooden floor and his shoes –as well as the hem of his pants– were covered with mud.  _ There goes my time to read, _ she thought glumly.  _ Maybe if I ignore him, he'll leave.  _ And so, she focused on her book, not once looking up at him.

After a short while, she began to feel his eyes staring at her, the sound of his shaky breaths reaching her ears. After a minute, she realized the boy was going nowhere, and that he won't leave until he had what he wanted. She closed her eyes and sucked a deep breath through her nose, then let it out evenly. "Shoes off," she said at length. "I don't want you trailing mud on my floor."

A grin broke across his face as he dropped to the floor and started removing his brown shoes. Done, he dropped them next to the coat hanger and closed the door. She watched him as he took his shoes off, then went back to her book. It was a book about astronomy and the wonders that lies in space. She liked it a lot. Most of the contents of this book was nothing more than theories and assumptions made by scientists, but who knows? Since the dawn of time, man had always tried to discover the secret to immortality, and here she was: a demon made from shadows. if anything, most of those theories and assumptions are real.

Hat Boy watched her for a minute, his hands behind his back. He wasn't sure what to do or say, so he blurted the first thing that came to mind. "Whatcha readin'?"

"A book," she answered, then turned a page. He pursed his lips, shooting her a dirty look. Wanna play hard to get, eh?

"What’s it about?" he asked again.

"A book about astronomy."

His brows furrowed in confusion. "What's astronomy?"

That gave her pause. She looked at him, eyebrow raised. "You don't know what astronomy is?" she asked, surprised. He shook his head. She sighed and closed the book, leaving her finger on the page she stopped on. "Astronomy is the science of space. You know, stars, planets, galaxies and all that stuff."

The boy perked up at the mention of space. "Oh, oh! I know space!" he piped, shooting one hand up, as if he was in class and wanting to partake in the lesson. "It's where I come from!" he added, poking chest with his thumb, a proud grin on his face.

"Oh, are you now?" she asked, an amused smile forming on her lips. The boy bobbed his head up and down excitedly. "Well then, space boy," she started, crossing her legs at the knee, then resting her elbow on them, her chin resting on her upturned palm. "Where do you live in space?"

"In a spaceship," he answered immediately. He then walked over and hopped onto the loveseat, sitting next to her and letting his feet dangle. "Mom and I travel around planets a lot, since it's her job and stuff."

The smile on her face slightly faded at the new information. So he does have parents, after all. "She must be a terrible mother then," she said teasingly. "Letting you wander into my forest and me taking your soul~"

"She's not!" he piped indignantly, his brows pinched angrily at her. That anger dissipated as quickly as it when he stared glumly forward and hugged his knees. "She's a great mom, it's just… she's just busy," he said at length. "Her job isn't easy, and… it's dangerous, too."

"What's her job?" The Snatchress heard herself ask. "I'm sure it's not that hard a job."

His face twisted in wariness "I-I can't tell you…" he answered, looking at her. "All I can say is that she stops bad guys from doing bad things to good people."

She hummed quietly at his answer. Stops bad guys from doing bad things, eh? Was she a police officer or something? She looked down at him, and it was then that she noticed the sadness in his eyes. "Even so, she shouldn't let her 'job' get I the way of spending time with you," she spoke to break the silence. "You're her kid, after all. You should come in first."

"I guess…" he muttered and looked to the side. "It's just that she tries so hard to balance between work and me and… I don't wanna make it any harder for her. Even so… I kinda miss her…"

The Snatchress frowned sympathetically. She somewhat understood how he felt. Father was a busy man back when she was little; he barely had time for them to do much, which made her believe that he didn't care about her for a while. Father died and Eric was her responsibility, she understood how hard it was to be a parent and do her job properly (Honestly, she was surprised she hasn't gotten any gray hairs at the time). She knew Eric missed her on some days, but he also knew how demanding being a duchess was, so he endured it. It was the same deal with the boy and his mother, and she knew it wasn't easy for him.

She caught her hand awkwardly hovering over his back and swiftly pulled it back to her lap, staring at it in confusion.  _ Goodness, woman, _ she chastised herself.  _ What is wrong with you? Why do you care about this boy so much? Why care at all? Don't you remember what happened last time you warmed up to someone? Do you want it to happen again? _

No. She didn't. But she couldn't help herself, no matter how hard she tried not to. In the short time she spent interacting with the boy, she felt things she thought will never feel ever again –sympathy, compassion, concern– but most importantly… love. She forgot how  _ warm _ it made her feel –like being next to a campfire in the middle of a cold night– but she was also scared to enjoy it. The last time she did, she got burned. Badly.

Even so, she couldn't help herself inching closer to take in its warmth, like a moth being lured into the flames by the dancing light of a candle. It was in her nature, in other words; she may no longer be human, but the desire to be around others and be with them was always there, deep inside of her. She fathomed the matter, and thought she could control and suppress it. For hundreds of years, she did. She even went the extra mile by either killing whoever stepped into her forest, or simply scare them away and never come back. She couldn't risk letting someone else into her life again; she couldn't risk losing all she had left again. It wasn't much, but it was all she had, and she will protect it with her life if she had to.

She sighed inwardly, then rubbed his back to comfort him. "Get some sleep, kiddo," she said as she stood up. "You're getting up early tomorrow." He looked at her as she walked over to the door.

"And where are you going?" He asked.

"Out for a walk," she answered.

"But it's raining outside," he argued, but she didn't listen; she was already closing the door behind her. He sighed defeatedly and flopped back on the loveseat, his eyes fixed at the ceiling.

She seemed upset, now that he thought about it. Did he say something wrong? He couldn't have; she seemed genuinely interested in their conversation. Maybe it was the whole Time Rift thing? The memories one travels through to get to the center of it come out as flashbacks to the owner of those memories. And, if he was honest, memories like hers would upset him as well if he thought much about it. Maybe he should follow her?

Nah. Mom once told him that when girls want to be alone, they need to be alone. She was a smart woman, and always gave him good advice… even when he chose to ignore it.

He yawned tiredly, the stress of running around all day finally catching up to him as his eyelids felt heavy.  _ Okay, _ he thought.  _ Just a quick nap. Then it's back to work. _

Putting up his final fight, his eyelids slowly closed shut.

And they stayed shut until morning.

**.oO0Oo.**

* * *

As The Snatchress walked, the towering trees around her moved their branches above her, shielding their queen from the falling rain. Her eyes carried a distant look and her fingers were interlaced in front of her, looking for all the world like a high-class woman brooding on how to kill her husband and take his wealth.

That wasn't what was swirling in her mind, however; she was only trying to find an answer to the question that she asked herself for half a day.

_ Am I growing soft? _

Her brows pinched and she shook her head. No, that can't be it, she's just confused; her flashback only gave her a good shunt to her past life, she was just reeling from it, still. He and Eric looked very much alike as well, but that doesn't mean she had any compassion for him.

Or did she…? She  _ did _ tend to his hands after he hurt them, and fed him when he was hungry. She also gave him a place to sleep the night in. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't care, would she?

A troubled look crossed her eyes and she bit her thumbnail through the glove –a habit she had whenever she was deep in thought– and shook her head again. No, she wouldn't; she was just being a decent person.

… But she didn't  _ need _ to be decent. This  _ is _ her forest and she never had to be decent to any of her former contractors. Why start now?

She sighed defeatedly and massaged her temples with her fingertips.  _ Come on, woman, get it together, _ she scolded herself.  _ You're letting that boy get to you. _

**_"You seem to have something on your mind."_ **

She tensed when a strange voice spoke from her side, but relaxed when she saw who it belonged to: a fat person with black, wiry arms and fingerless hands. They wore a red top and yellow bottoms, their head hidden from the world with a purple hoodie and a white mask hiding their face, one eye glowing in blue. They wore a massive backpack and held a cane in their hand. Their body twitched and wobbled, as if they were a glitchy character in a videogame. They were known as The Badge Seller.

"Oh," The Snatchress said, unamused. "It's just you."

They gave her a polite bow in response. Or tried to, at least.  **_"You look troubled,"_ ** they said.  **_"Perhaps you wish to talk to someone about it?"_ **

"Troubled? What makes you think I'm troubled?" she said, crossing her arms and smirking to try and act normal.

**_"You are walking in the middle of rainy night,"_ ** The Badge Seller replied matter-of-factly.  **_"Only someone with something on their mind would do that."_ **

Right. She forgot how smart they are. She might have made a funny face while unaware when the strange vendor chuckled.  **_"Is it the young boy?"_ ** they asked knowingly.

She perked up at the mention of him. "How do you know about him?" she asked, squinting doubtfully at the vendor.

**_"We have done business in the near past,"_ ** he answered.  **_"A big spender, might I say, but a very good seed he is."_ ** They wistfully shook their head and continued:  **** " **_He has this strange effect on those who come across him."_ **

"What you mean by 'strange effect?" She jammed, crossing her arms and cocking her hip, giving the impression of a sassy teen.

**_"He emanates a blithe aura that can only make you adore him,_ ** " they said. While they had no lips, The Snatchress was certain they were smiling.

She simply stared at them for a moment, unamused, then rolled her eyes with an uninterested sigh. "Just give me what I asked for and get the hell out of my forest," she said. The Badge Seller stared at her for a moment, their body twitching, before they bowed and reached one twitchy arm back into their backpack. They pulled it out with a big, beige piece of cloth. They released it, and it hovered in their air, taking the form of an odd object hiding beneath it.

**_"You can only rent it for a day,_ ** " they said as The Snatchress snapped her fingers, causing the cloth and object beneath it to disappear in a puff of purple. She then reached behind her and pulled out a small sack filled with pons and tossed it over to the vendor. **_"And good luck with the boy."_ **

And with that, the vendor turned and started to wobble away, disappearing behind a tree. The Snatchress pursed her lips and looked aside in thought.  _ A blithe aura that can only make me adore him, huh? _ She thought to herself. An idea came to her, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards in a tiny, sinister smile. "We'll see about that~" she said, chuckling lowly as she walked away. She will show them that nothing can get to the Queen of Subcon. Nothing.

Once the rain stops, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the chapter was short, but this was necessary for the story sake. Next chapter will be the usual length.

**Author's Note:**

> As you could tell, the chapters are classed as acts. Some will be divided into parts if they're too long, as I want to limit them at around 3k words per act. We'll try our best to update this story every Friday, as I have other works, and he has other things to do. If you have any criticism, please do it constructively in the comments.
> 
> That's it from me. Hope you all have a good one :)


End file.
